Sinnoh Bound
by SailorChronos1
Summary: Jack Drake gets the best birthday presents ever: a Pokemon egg and a journey to Sinnoh with his older sister Heather. Sequel to Destination Indigo.
1. Chapter 1

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Pokémon!  
>It's all about the challenges<br>It's a brand new game and a brand new world  
>New rivals as you fight for survival<br>Nothing can stop you, Diamond and Pearl  
>Pokémon!<br>It's all about the battle  
>You gotta play smart, you gotta move faster<br>Behind every win there's a chance to begin again  
>You've gotta take it all if you wanna be a master!<br>Pokémon!  
>It's time for adventure, Diamond and Pearl<br>We can change the world!  
>Pokémon!<p>

Chapter One: A New Dream

The somewhat off-key strains of the "Happy Birthday to You" song emanated from the main room of a house in Twilight Village, a small community in the foothills north of Pewter City. The residents were celebrating a momentous occasion, the eleventh birthday of Jackson Drake, a young man with a dream.

There was a time when the people feared what they believed to be monsters beyond the well-kept village limits. No longer; three years earlier a 12-year-old girl left in order to prove that the "monsters" weren't as they seemed. She returned a year later with a team of powerful creatures at her side, and supervised the building of a Pokémon Battle Gym to attract new life to the isolated area.

Jack, as he was called, blew out the candles on his cake with some trepidation. He was surrounded by family and friends, including Christy Sable and Craig Flint, the tag-team Gym Leaders. But the one person that he most wanted to be here wasn't. His older sister had left just after the Year's End festival and gone to the Houenn Region with a friend of hers, in order to capture some new types of Pokémon for the Gym. It was now late April and the last time the family had heard from her was a fortnight ago: she had called from Mossdeep City.

"I wish Heather was here," he murmured sadly.

There was a knock at the front door.

His mother rose and went to answer it. Five seconds later there was a holler of "I'm home!" in a familiar voice.

Jack leaped up, almost overturning his chair. "I don't believe it!" he cried, brushing a lock of black hair out of his eyes as he did when he was excited or nervous.

Standing in the doorway was his sister Heather, hardly looking at all like the lanky girl that he had seen out the door four months ago. He remembered that she was now fifteen; she had grown at least another inch taller and filled out more in certain places as girls did, her rich brown hair was longer and tied into a ponytail, and she sported a cap with the markings of the Houenn Pokémon League. "Hi, Jack!"

He bolted across the room and hugged her, his eagerness causing her to stagger a bit. Her green jacket smelled like salt water and dust. "I didn't know you were coming home! Weren't you going to compete in the Houenn League?"

"I was," Heather replied, "but given the situation I just had to come home, especially to see the look on your face when I gave you your birthday present!" She grinned, looking quite pleased.

"Pikapika!" admonished a high-pitched voice from behind her.

"Right," she added hastily as a Pikachu hopped up and settled on her shoulders. "Actually it's from all of us: me, my mentor Professor Linden, and my Pokémon team."

Jack was delighted to see his sister's Pikachu. "Hey, Loki!" he exclaimed and held out his arms. Loki leaped over to him and nuzzled him for a moment. "May I see your new team?" he asked his sister excitedly as Loki returned to the floor.

"Manners, young man," their mother said, but not severely. "She only just got here, and I'm sure she needs to eat."

"Thank you, Mom." Heather sighed with relief. "I started out from Pewter City early this morning and I'm starving." She shucked off her jacket, hung it up in a closet, and prepared to sit at the table amid a cacophony of greetings and questions from everyone assembled. "I left the rest of my Pokémon over at the Gym because I thought there would be a crowd here, and there wouldn't be enough space to have them all in the house."

No sooner had she said this, most of Jack's friends, Craig included, excused themselves and stampeded toward the door. "Go on!" she encouraged them. "Let us have a few minutes of family time!" Soon only their parents and Christy remained, and Heather retrieved a cylindrical-shaped object from behind a chair where she had hidden it after she had arrived. It was covered with a blanket.

"What's that?" Jack asked, peering at it with curiosity when she moved the birthday cake to one side and placed the object on the table in front of him. He looked at Christy who shrugged her shoulders, but the expression on her face made him think that she was hiding something. "Have you seen something like this before, C?"

The blonde-haired young woman smirked. "I'm saying nothing!"

"Then stop the suspense, sis!" he said impatiently, and then his mouth dropped open in awe as a soft pulsating glow suddenly began to emanate from under the covering.

Heather's eyes widened. "Perfect timing," she said softly. "This, little brother, is your present. It's a very personal moment, which is why I told everyone else to vamoose. Please meet your first Pokémon-to-be!" She reached under the blanket and twisted something, and there was a click. Grasping the blanket and the top of the object with both hands, she whisked them away.

The glow grew brighter and captivated everyone's attention: its source was an orange mottled egg the size of a shot-put that rested on a hollowed-out base. "This... this isn't..." Jack stammered. "This can't be a Pokémon egg? I mean, you told me about them, but..."

"Nobody really knows how Pokémon breed," Heather explained. "If a male and female Pokémon like each other and spend a fair amount of time together, an egg might be produced after a while." She smiled wryly. "Loki took a liking to one of the Pokémon that I caught in Houenn, and this is the result."

Their mother shook her head in wonderment. "What a marvellous gift! You be sure to take care of it, Jack," she instructed seriously.

"Wow, thank you sis!" he whispered in awe. "It's amazing!"

Before he could think of what to say next, the egg flared brightly and began to crack! In a moment the glow faded, and amidst the broken pieces of creamy shell that fell onto the table, stood a small orange bird with an oversized head and claws. "Torchic!" it piped.

Jack was struck silent. A few moments earlier he had made a wish on his birthday candles. Now his sister was home, the family was together, and he had witnessed the hatching of his own Pokémon! This was the best birthday ever!

He spent the remainder of the day getting to know his Torchic, which he named Kojin, while Heather went to show off her new bird Pokémon to the others.

* * *

><p>The next day after school he came upon Heather talking to Christy and Craig in front of the Gym. "-so are you sure you can handle this? You've done an excellent job while I was away in Houenn. All the Pokémon are healthy and happy, and you've kept up with the routine maintenance and clerical work. Oh, hi, Jack!" she added when she noticed him. "Are you challenging the Gym Leaders?" She grinned.<p>

He laughed. "Heck, no! I've trained a lot with them, but they can battle circles around me! What were you talking about just now?"

Craig waggled a finger at him. "That's for us to know and you to find out," he said jokingly.

"It's a mystery," Christy said in low, melodic tones.

Heather pointed, indicating that the other two should get back to the Gym, then steered Jack toward their house by the shoulders. "Come with me, bro." As they walked, she explained. "I have been talking to Mom and Papa, as well as a few other people. Next week is the beginning of May, which is also the start of the standard Pokémon training circuit. How would you like to go on the road?"

Jack stopped in his tracks. "You mean... a real Pokémon journey? With you?" He shook his head, hardly daring to believe what he just heard. "I've been dreaming about that ever since you left! Every time you wrote letters and told us about the adventures you had and the Pokémon you saw... of course I'd love to go!" Then he hesitated. "What about school? About Mom and Papa?"

"Ha, you're not getting out of school that easily," she joked with a grin, and Jack stuck his tongue out at her. "I thought about that. We can bring a palm computer and connect to an educational server at any Pokémon Center, so you'll keep up on your lessons. Then before the Winter Festival we'll come home so you can take the exam." Her expression sobered somewhat. "Mom is happy that you'll be learning more about the world. Papa is... Papa." Both of them knew that their father had never approved of Heather's chosen path, but he tolerated the situation out of love for his family. "I've sworn to keep you out of trouble."

Doubly shocked, Jack planted himself in front of his sister and grabbed her arm. "You mean it? We're actually going?" He felt like he could jump out of his skin with excitement!

Heather laughed. "Cross my heart! We leave a week from tomorrow. The only question now is: where?"

"Um..." He tried to remember his geography. "We're in Kanto; that's the League you went to first. Johto is to the west, past Mount Silver. That's where Mouse is from, right?"

"Yes. She told me to say hello, by the way. After she competes in the Houenn League Tournament, she wants to continue her journey in Sinnoh. That's an island region to the northeast."

"Then let's go to Sinnoh," he decided. At his sister's surprised expression, he continued, "It would be great if the three of us could travel together. You've already competed in Kanto and you've been to Houenn, and somehow I don't think that Mouse would want to go back to Johto right now, even with us."

"No, you're right," Heather agreed. "But you'll be seeing some of Kanto anyway, because it will take at least two weeks to get from here to Vermillion City on foot with overnight stops. There we can get on a ferry to Sinnoh."

He whooped and danced around for a minute, subsiding when his sister elbowed him and told him playfully to grow up.


	2. Chapter 2

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Two: Departures

To Jack's continued elation, Heather was true to her word. Within a week, all the necessary preparations had been made for their voyage to Sinnoh: backpacks with the equipment they would need, travel routes marked on a map, tickets for the ferry, and an official handover of the Gym to Christy and Craig. One last thing that Heather had to do was to bid farewell to Skye and Blaze.

He knew it was going to be very hard for her. She had raised both the Articuno and Moltres from chicks, and they had helped her out of some tough scrapes, but now it was best to release them. It wouldn't be fair to the legendary Pokémon if she either left them here at the Gym or took them to Sinnoh where they'd be far away from their home.

Christy and Craig, then Jack himself, had taken turns to praise them and wish them well. Then they had left Heather alone with them behind the Gym, and a few minutes later they saw the two birds rise up into the air and fly away in a southerly direction. Jack could only assume that Skye would be returning to the Seafoam Islands where it was from, and Blaze would go to Mount Ember. Sorrowful tears came to his eyes and he hastily wiped a sleeve across his face, but Craig put an arm around his shoulders to comfort him.

Soon Heather joined them, her face tear-streaked. She said nothing, only gazed after the departing Pokémon until they couldn't be seen any more. Then she turned and headed back toward the house.

Christy sighed. "Don't worry, guys, she'll be all right. We all know that those two Pokémon were raised with love, and they can take care of themselves. I'm sure we'll see them again sometime."

Jack tried to think of a way to prod them into telling him what they planned to do with the Gym, but couldn't. This wasn't the time to talk about it. "So what's going to happen to her other Pokémon?"

"She's keeping Eagle and Loki," Craig said, which didn't surprise Jack at all, since the Pidgeot and Pikachu had been her first two Pokémon and she was the most attached to them. "We're going to train the others she brought back from Houenn, as well as the rest from her Indigo League team. They're in good hands."

Jack had seen his sister's new Pokémon only briefly amid the whirlwind of preparations: Swellow, Wingull, Altaria, and Combusken. It was the Combusken, he learned, who had been the other parent of his Torchic; Heather called her Nova. "Then I guess this is it. We're really leaving." He sighed then, feeling a mixture of sadness and apprehension. "Why am I not happy about it?"

"You're just nervous about leaving home and everything," assured Christy. "Having to say goodbye isn't easy. But tomorrow you'll be on your way and all you'll be able to think about is the brand new adventure that's waiting. We'll see you in the winter, so cheer up!"

* * *

><p>The next morning Jack was awakened at the crack of dawn by his sister, who ignored his sleepy protests and bundled him out of the house into the slightly chilly air, which served to bring him to full alertness. "What's up, sis? What about breakfast, what about-"<p>

"We'll eat on the way," she interrupted. "You shouldn't have stayed up so late."

"I couldn't sleep, I was so... I don't know!" he grumbled.

She handed him his backpack and he reluctantly shrugged it on. "You knew that we'd be leaving first thing. You need to get used to waking up early when you're on the road. Besides, I want to get us to Pewter City by tomorrow night."

Behind them, the door opened and their mother stepped out. "I thought I heard you trying to sneak away, so I'll keep the goodbye short. Take care of yourselves, and if you need anything, just call home." She hugged them both warmly, and then went back inside.

Soon after they passed the town limits, Jack began to wonder who was the harder taskmistress, his mother or his sister. Heather set a hard pace for them, and he practically collapsed into his bedroll at the end of the first day, calling her every bad name he could think of for not realizing that he couldn't walk such long distances as she could. Her retort that he would get used to it soon enough didn't help his mood or aching legs. He barely spoke to her the next day, saving his energy for the long and tiring hike.

However his mood greatly improved when they reached Pewter City and he marveled at the tall buildings and large number of shops. It was at the Pokémon Center, though, that he blissfully took advantage of a hot bath which eased his muscles considerably. "I don't understand how you managed to make it here the first time," he admitted to Heather during dinner.

She laughed. "Believe me; I was just as tired, sore, and dirty. I'm really sorry that I pushed you so hard, but we might be able to go a bit more slowly now that I've found out about a short cut."

"What kind of short cut?" he asked in a wishful tone. Anything that would help his legs right now was good news!

"While you were in the bath, I talked to Nurse Joy. She told me about a network of underground tunnels that were made by Diglett."

"The mole Pokémon?" Jack asked, recalling the entry from a book.

"That's it," she confirmed. "One entrance to the tunnels is nearby, and there's another close to Vermillion City. Few people go that way because it's very easy to get lost in the maze, plus you're stuck underground with no way to get help if something happens."

He thought for a moment. It sounded interesting, but... "I don't think so, sis. Why should we spend days underground when there's so much to see above it? Is there no other way?" The last bit came out sounding a bit desperate.

"Well," Heather began cautiously as she moved their empty dishes aside and brought out a map. "We could go cross-country and bypass Mount Moon," she suggested. "It'll be rougher than staying on the road, but it'll take about a day to a day and a half off the time to get to Saffron City."

Jack peered at the distances marked on the map. "So if everything goes well, we should be at Vermillion City two to three days sooner than you planned." He shifted in his seat, trying to contain his enthusiasm. "That's all the closer to Sinnoh!"

"We'll see," said Heather. "This isn't a race, Jack. And don't count on everything going well. No matter how much you plan ahead, there's always the unexpected."

* * *

><p>Their "short cut" turned out to be more of an annoyance than a help. Although they found a small path - obviously others had come this way before - it was heavily overgrown in places. It was pure luck that Heather had had a last-minute change of mind before they left home and brought along Nova, her Combusken. The Pokémon used its Slash attack frequently to clear the way. But by the time they stumbled out of the forest in sight of the north bend of Cycling Road several days later, they were exhausted and covered in scratches.<p>

It was another three days along a path under the elevated road to Celadon City, where they were delayed for a day by rain. Jack was highly grateful for the respite, for it gave his abused legs a chance to recover. It was slowly getting easier, but he knew he still had a long way to go to match his sister's stamina.

As soon as the sun reappeared, they were back on the road. His Torchic was doing well and had gained a few levels, as Heather had coached him through battles with wild Pokémon. He didn't catch any though, since he wanted to wait until they got to Sinnoh.

However Heather did catch a few Pokémon, which surprised him immensely; more so that they weren't even bird-like Pokémon that she preferred. Between Celadon and Saffron City she caught a Growlithe, and then on the south road out of Saffron leading to Vermillion City she nabbed an Oddish.

She also encouraged him to start battling trainers, as preparation for future encounters. "But sis," he protested, "I used to battle against you and the C-C's all the time. I've had lots of practise."

"Yes, against Pokémon and strategies that you are familiar with," was her reminder. "We'll meet lots of people, Gym Leaders included, and you won't know what Pokémon they have. A good trainer needs to be able to adapt to any situation."

They were walking along a dyke just outside of Vermillion City and had stopped to take in the view of the ocean sparkling in the setting sun. As Jack idly watched a flock of Pidgeotto wheeling gracefully above the waves, Heather pulled a collapsible fishing rod from her pack and proceeded to catch a Poliwag.

"What's with all the catches?" he asked abruptly. "I thought you were going to wait until Sinnoh."

She stowed her rod and the PokéBall. "These Pokémon are hardly ever seen in the wild in Sinnoh. Professor Linden told me that Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town might be interested in seeing them. We'll be visiting him so you can choose your first Pokémon in Sinnoh." She clapped an arm around his shoulders. "Have you decided which?"

"Not yet," he admitted, embarrassed. "I should have time to think on the boat, wouldn't you say?"

That night they stayed at the home of Professor Linden, who had been Heather's mentor on her Kanto journey. For dinner they were joined by Lieutenant Surge the Vermillion Gym Leader, and Heather was very pleased to see him, having trained with him many times. Jack was quite intimidated by the large and boisterous man until Surge invited him for a mock battle in the backyard. Of course his young Torchic was no match for Surge's strong Pikachu, but it did serve to give him some insight into the trials that lay ahead.

Early in the morning, they bid farewell to their friends and boarded the ferry to Sinnoh. A new adventure was beginning!


	3. Chapter 3

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Three: Turf Dispute

On the second day out from Vermillion City, Jack was on deck looking at the rugged coastline passing by. Flocks of Wingull were calling overhead, and every so often a Mantine or Goldeen leaped out of the water near the ship. The world was such a wonderful and inspiring place, so full of life. "It won't be long now," said Heather as she joined him. "We dock in Port Sinnoh tomorrow morning, and then it's a short walk into Sandgem Town."

Jack stared at her for a second, wondering why she didn't have Loki on her shoulders before remembering that she had left him at the ship's Pokémon Spa earlier. "Hey sis, could you tell me about Houenn? Like, did you challenge any Gyms while you were there?"

"Actually, I did," she said, smiling. "Mouse was surprised at how quickly I won my way through all the Gyms. I did in four months what most trainers there do in almost a year."

He gaped at her, wide-eyed with shock. "ALL of them? How did you even get to all of the towns that fast?"

Heather chuckled. "I flew on Eagle, and I was lucky enough to get lifts when I couldn't. I turned a few heads because Pidgeot are not often seen there, being a semi-tropical climate. Also I earned the respect of the Gym Leaders, since I defeated almost all of them the first time I faced them."

Jack was impressed. "You must have used Eagle and Loki a lot, because I don't think four months would be long enough to train Pokémon for the higher level Gyms."

"You're right, bro. It helped that they're both as powerful as they are." She gazed out at the water as she reminisced, her tone proud but not boastful. "I won through the first six with little trouble, but I did have to call up Skye for my rematch at the seventh Gym. That was a tough one: it was a tag-team style battle with two Psychic types and I wasn't prepared for it. The eighth Gym Leader used water and ice-types, so Loki had a field day with that."

Jack shook his head somewhat ruefully. "You never cease to amaze me, sis. How will I be able to catch up to you?"

She smiled. "If you train hard and take care of your Pokémon, anything is possible."

* * *

><p>Sandgem Town was a friendly place, nestled in a green valley. After a few anxious moments of looking at the town map that they had with them, they asked a passer-by for directions and soon were headed to Professor Rowan's lab, which turned out to be a prominent white building on the western side of town.<p>

The man himself was tall and white-haired, with a square jaw and sporting a large mustache. He welcomed them warmly. "You must be Heather and Jack. Do come in; Professor Linden called to say you were coming." He led them into a large room where several assistants were working with different types of Pokémon that neither Jack nor Heather had seen before. At one side was a table where three boys were sitting. "Let me introduce you to Trevor, Ken, and Damien. They're all anxious to start their journeys, but they kindly waited for you both to arrive so you could all choose your Pokémon together."

They exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, with everyone talking about their various plans. Trevor was thin with short curly brown hair and a cheerful disposition. Conversely, black-haired Ken was quiet and sullen. Damien had the appearance of a martial artist, with long ash-blond hair tied back in a ponytail.

Before long, Professor Rowan started to look concerned. "The courier who was supposed to deliver the PokéBalls hasn't arrived yet. He's usually quite punctual so I wonder if something might have happened."

"Let's all go and look," Jack eagerly suggested. If he found one of the PokéBalls, he hoped that he would get to keep it.

They split into two groups: Ken, Damien, and Professor Rowan went along the east road, while Heather, Jack, and Trevor headed toward the north road out of town. Jack's group hadn't gone far when they spotted a bicycle parked next to an open field on the edge of town. "Hello?" he called. "Is there anyone here?"

There was a rustling in the grass and a disheveled young man wearing a bike helmet scrambled back to the road. "Please forgive me," he said breathlessly. "I was delivering some PokéBalls to the lab but I tried to avoid a Shinx on the road and I fell. The package with the PokéBalls flew into the field and tore open, and I haven't found them yet."

"Oh no!" Trevor exclaimed. "We're supposed to get our Pokémon this morning! What'll we do?"

"We'll help him look," said Heather. "Let's go!" Loki ran forward into the grass without hesitation, and they waded in after him.

After at least a quarter of an hour of fruitless searching, they reconvened on the road. "I don't get it," said Jack. "They couldn't have rolled far in that thick grass."

A bolt of lightning suddenly shot into the air from further into the grassy area. Without a word, Heather went into the field again, Jack and Trevor clambering behind her. They ended up on the edge of a small clearing, and immediately saw Loki being confronted by a group of brown Pokémon slightly larger than the Pikachu but with round ears and large front teeth. Three of them were holding the missing PokéBalls!

"Those are Bidoof!" Trevor said. "They like to chew stuff. Maybe they think the PokéBalls are good to sharpen their teeth with."

"Give back those PokéBalls, please?" Jack called out, knowing that sometimes Pokémon might be friendly if you were nice to them.

The one in front that appeared to be the leader shook its head in a negative gesture. "Bidoof Bidoof!" it exclaimed, and leaped up into the air, rolling into a ball.

"What's-?" Jack started to ask, but Trevor grabbed his arm and pulled him down to the ground as the Pokémon sped toward them. "That's a Rollout attack!"

"Loki, duck and throw!" Heather called. Loki shot a Thunderbolt at the leading edge of the Rollout, and the surprised Bidoof was hurtled into the air. "Quick Attack!" Loki knocked his opponent out instantly. Seeing their leader beaten, the other Bidoof dropped the PokéBalls and fled.

Unfortunately when the PokéBalls hit the ground, their occupants were released, and the three Pokémon glanced around nervously. From his spot in the grass, Jack couldn't take his eyes off them. He had read about the Sinnoh starters but to actually see them was another matter entirely! The grass type, Turtwig, was shaped similarly to a Squirtle but it was green and brown with a hard beak and a sprig of leaves on its head. Piplup, the water type, was a blue bird-like Pokémon with short wings and webbed feet. Lastly, Chimchar was the fire type, which looked to Jack like a cross between a Mankey and Charmander with red fur and a flame-tipped tail.

Trevor scrambled to his feet. "Quick, don't let them get away!"

"Don't make sudden moves," Heather said, grabbing him. "If they get scared and run, we might not be able to find them again. Follow my lead." She knelt down with her hands at her sides. "You have to be as non-threatening as possible." Then she addressed the closest one, which happened to be Piplup. "Hello, Piplup, my name is Heather and I'd like to be your friend. Would you please come with me?" She fished in a side pocket of her pack and held out a piece of PokéBlock, a treat from the Houenn region.

The Piplup regarded her with some curiosity, then peeped happily and waddled over to her. Heather made a fuss over it, smoothing its feathers.

"Wow!" gasped Trevor. "You know an awful lot about-"

She waved brusquely to silence him, then handed him another piece of PokéBlock. "If you're going to choose a partner, now is just as good a time as any."

Jack, on the other hand, needed little guidance since he had interacted with other Pokémon many times. He hadn't been surprised at all when his sister chose Piplup, and decided at that moment that although he already had Torchic, he wanted to train a combination of fire and fighting types. So he approached the Chimchar carefully. He had no PokéBlock but he did have a half-eaten muffin bar that he had stuffed in his pocket earlier that morning. "Chimchar, I'm Jack, and I have a snack for you. Could we be friends?"

The chimp Pokémon turned a handspring, dove at him and swept his cap off his head, then ran a short distance away and climbed a tree. Not to be outdone, Jack stubbornly shinnied up the tree after it. "I can climb, too. Give me back my hat, you minx!" A short chase through the tree branches ensued, until he slipped and crashed to the ground. The chimp Pokémon leaped down and cavorted gleefully around his prone body. "All right, you win," he groaned and held out the snack, which it grabbed, and dropped the hat on the ground next to him.

"Jack, are you all right?" his sister called, concerned.

"Fine, just a few bruises," he called back as he stood up. He could see that Heather had already coaxed the Piplup back into its ball, but Trevor was having trouble: the Turtwig was chasing him and nipping at his heels. "Chimchar, Ember!" he commanded, hoping that it was at a high-enough level to use the attack. The Chimchar spit a volley of fiery plumes at the Turtwig, and the grass Pokémon fell to the ground heavily.

The moment Trevor realized that he was no longer being hounded, he fell to his knees in the grass, panting. However Heather's shout caught his attention as she threw the Turtwig's PokéBall to him. Quickly he captured the Turtwig before it could recover. "Thanks!" he said with relief. "Hey Heather, that Pikachu you have is awesome! I want to get one too." She smiled in some amusement.

Jack turned and looked for the Bidoof that had been defeated earlier, wondering if it would make a good Pokémon for him to have. Unfortunately, it was gone. Oh well, he was certain there would be many more encounters. As he retrieved Chimchar's PokéBall, he heard Heather say that they'd better get back to the lab.

None the worse for wear, they all waded out of the grass to where the bike courier was waiting. When they got back to the lab and explained to Professor Rowan what had happened, he was impressed. "You did an admirable job, and I think it would be only fair for you to keep those Pokémon you caught," he said genially.

Damien looked disappointed but Ken was furious. "This isn't fair!" he shouted. "Why should they hog all the Pokémon and I don't get one after waiting for them to show up?"

"Hold on a minute," Heather said quickly, in an effort to smooth things over. "I brought some Pokémon with me from Kanto to give to Professor Rowan. But if he doesn't mind, you can choose one of them if you want." She let out the three that she had caught on the way. At once Ken chose the fire-type Growlithe, and with a nasty look at Heather he picked up a Pokédex from the table and left silently. Damien gratefully selected the Poliwag.

"Looks like you get the Oddish, Professor," Jack noted.

Rowan chuckled. "This area is well suited for grass-types, so it should be happy here. Thank you very much for bringing it. Now then, I'm sure you're all eager to go." He held out a tray containing several sets of PokéBalls. "I hope you all succeed in your journey."


	4. Chapter 4

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Four: A Gathering of Friends

"Kojin, Ember!" Jack's Torchic spit fire at the Shinx that he had spotted on the side of the road. The Flash Pokémon adeptly dodged the attack and retaliated with a Tackle that knocked Kojin down. "Get up and Scratch!" This time the hit connected, leaving the Shinx disoriented. "PokéBall, go!" He threw a ball at the Shinx, and made his first official Sinnoh capture!

"Yay, Jack!" Heather cheered. "You did it on your first try."

Glowing with pride, he gazed at the PokéBall in his hand for a few moments. He now felt like a real Pokémon trainer, and it was such an amazing thing. After stowing the PokéBall on his belt with a grin he said, "I still don't see why I can't have all fighting types." Then he knelt and gave Kojin a piece of fruit as a reward.

"I never said you couldn't," Heather reminded him. "It's just a good idea to have a varied team so that you can handle whatever your opponent might throw at you. For example, I use mostly flying types. Someone with one strong electric type could take them all out very quickly, which is why I have Loki. If you have mostly fighting Pokémon, they'll be weak against flying or psychic types."

"But," Jack protested, "the type difference doesn't always make or break a match."

"That's true, but it's a good idea to consider it. The Gym Leader at Oreburgh City uses ground and rock types, so it's best to have a Pokémon that can use water moves."

"Yeah, but where can we find one? We're not near the ocean right now." They had continued north from Sandgem Town and planned to reach Jubilife City the next day. "And we won't be again until Veilstone City."

She waggled a finger at him and said playfully, "You're forgetting something, bro! There's a river that runs near Floaroma Town."

"But that's further north, isn't it? I don't want to backtrack all that way."

Heather sighed, and considered for a moment. "Then here's what we can do. There's no rule that says you have to go to the Gyms in order, although leaders have the right to refuse a challenge if they think you're not strong enough. Train your two fire types hard, and challenge the Gym at Eterna City, because the leader there uses grass types. By then you should have found a water Pokémon, and we can head south down Cycling Road to get back to Oreburgh."

"Sounds good to me!" He gave Heather a happy high-five.

After passing through Jubilife City and replenishing supplies, they continued northwards. It took almost a week to reach Floaroma Town, by which time Jack had battled many wild Pokémon and several trainers. Heather had caught a Starly and was training it and her Piplup quickly by orchestrating matches between them and her more experienced friends.

His Shinx, named Zera because Nurse Joy at the Jubilife Pokémon Center had identified her as female, proved she could handle her own type when they battled a trainer in Floaroma Town who had a Pichu.

"Tackle attack, now!" Zera charged at the tiny mouse.

The Pichu's trainer yelled her own order. "Thundershock!"

The lightning blew Zera off the ground, and although she landed on her feet, she couldn't move forward as the Pichu pressed its attack. Jack became concerned, since he knew that Zera wasn't a high enough level to use any electric moves yet. "Keep yourself grounded, Zera!" he called. "It's bound to run out of power soon!" Zera bared her teeth and crouched low, but her legs were shaking.

His opponent laughed. "You won't last much longer! My Pichu is the best!"

Nervousness set in, and his heart pounded. Perhaps he had made a mistake in using Zera for this? Then he noticed a strong aura forming around the Shinx, pulling the electricity in. Could she be using Charge? It was possible, but she had no way of releasing it and she would soon be overwhelmed. Unless... "Zera, remember what you've seen Loki do? Channel it back out! Do Thunderbolt!" It was a gamble that she could spontaneously learn the move, but otherwise they would lose.

Zera closed her eyes and cried out with the effort, but the electricity gathered around her mouth and lashed at the Pichu, knocking it out. Now discharged, she stood quivering and panting as Jack ran up and held her gently for support. "Great job, Zera!" he praised her. "You learned two moves! You deserve a good rest now; let's get you to Nurse Joy."

When he stood, cradling Zera in his arms, he noticed that the girl was already tending to her Pichu. "Great battle," she said with a respectful nod. "My name is Ariel. If you're ever back in town, could I challenge you again? I promise I'll be better next time!"

Jack flashed a smile at her. "It's a deal!"

The highlight of the day, though, happened later that afternoon. He and Heather explored the boardwalk outside the eastern end of town, where he battled a handful of fishermen who had Magikarp and Goldeen. Zera's newly discovered Thunderbolt prevailed time and time again. Then, just as they were about to head back to town for dinner, what should leap from the water but a Buizel!

"Cool, I want to catch it! Zera, let's go!"

"Jack, wait! She's too tired from battling those trainers, we can come back tomorrow."

"But-" Before he could object further, the Buizel made a face at him, leaped into the water again and disappeared. "Sis!" he yelled, stamping his foot with a pout. "You made me miss the Buizel!"

"It'll still be around tomorrow," she insisted, despite the annoyed glare he gave her. "A trainer needs to put their Pokémon's health first. If you had tried to battle that Buizel, more than likely you would have lost and Zera would have been hurt. Do you want that?"

"What I want," he said, suddenly angry at Heather for her interference, "is for you to stop coaching me once in a while and let me do my own thing. If I want your advice, I'll ask for it. If I make mistakes, I'll deal with them."

She sighed in exasperation, and then pursed her lips as she often did when she was thinking. "All right, Jack, I'm sorry. When we come back, you can battle the Buizel and I'll just watch."

The next morning, Jack was psyched as he and his sister returned to the place where they had seen the Buizel. He expected a long wait, since although a Pokémon might have been seen at a specific location, there was no guarantee that it would show up. Therefore it was a total surprise when a Buizel gracefully flew out of the water and landed on the walkway in front of him!

He wasted no time. "Zera, Tackle!" The attack didn't come close as the Buizel avoided it easily and followed up with several lashes of its tail, producing disorienting waves of sound. He barely heard Heather cry out behind him as he tried to keep his composure. This Buizel was fast! Catching it looked almost impossible; he saw that there was no way Zera could match its speed, and his other two Pokémon were weak against water.

No, it was too soon to give up. If he couldn't hit it, he would have to lure it in. "Do Leer, now!" Zera's eyes glowed and she stared down the Buizel, which had landed a short way away and was in the middle of pulling faces. But when it looked at Zera's menacing stance, it hesitated!

Time to go for the hit! "Thunderbolt!" The Buizel leaped up, but it wasn't quite fast enough this time and caught a glancing blow from the electricity. It twisted itself around and dove into the water.

For a few seconds, Jack worried if he might have missed his chance to catch it. He scanned the water carefully, looking for any ripples or telltale signs that the Buizel might be returning, but the water was calm. He was about to give up when a small area began to roil, and the Buizel shot out again, firing a Water Gun attack.

Hold on, water conducted electricity! "Zera, brace yourself!" Zera took the full force of the Water Gun and staggered, but remained standing. "Send a Thunderbolt through the water!" The Buizel was taken completely off-guard and took heavy damage before it cut off its attack, and it crashed down onto the boardwalk. Jack immediately threw a PokéBall, and spent several tense moments watching as it rocked, but the Buizel remained caught!

"All right, I caught a Buizel!" he shouted, lifting the PokéBall into the air triumphantly as Heather cheered from behind him. "See, sis, I said I could do it." Zera cavorted happily around his feet.

"Great job, bro! And that was quick thinking to use the Buizel's Water Gun against it. Coming up with things like that on the fly and taking your opponent by surprise is a big help in Gym battles."

Jack returned Zera to her ball. "Speaking of Gyms, I think we're almost ready. Which way do we go?"

Heather consulted their map. "From where we are, it's about the same distance back to Oreburgh as it is to Eterna City. There are two paths ahead; the longer one is through Eterna Forest which will give the opportunity to battle bug and grass-type Pokémon with your fire types."

"And you want to catch a Murkrow," he said with a sly grin. At her dismayed look he continued, "I saw you looking it up earlier."

"You got me," she admitted, shrugging. "Let's go, then!"


	5. Chapter 5

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Five: Red Green Showing

Eterna Forest was a place dominated by large tree trunks with splashes of sunlight here and there, and twisting paths that often dead-ended and forced them to backtrack. The number of different Pokémon that they saw was astounding, and Jack's Chimchar and Torchic gained experience quickly from battles.

On their last night in the forest it happened to be a full moon; they camped in a clearing to take advantage of the light so that Heather could capture a Murkrow. All it took was a pair of synchronized Thunderbolts into the trees from Loki and Zera to bring one down.

Early the following afternoon they passed through the sun-washed exit from the Forest onto Route 205, to see open fields and a series of boardwalks over a river. A gauntlet of water Pokémon trainers awaited them on the bridges, but Jack and Zera challenged them all and became much stronger in the process. When the final trainer was defeated and Jack celebrated the victory, Zera evolved into her next stage, Luxio, much to his astonishment and delight.

By evening, tired but happy, they arrived at the entrance to Eterna City to find someone waiting for them. "Hi, you guys! What took you so long?"

Jack squinted at the lanky girl. "Huh?"

"Mouse!" Heather ran forward happily and hugged her friend.

To Jack, Christina Souris was hardly recognizable from the brief time he had seen her last. Like his sister she had grown taller, and her spiky blonde hair was cut short, but the gap-toothed smile and outgoing attitude hadn't changed.

"So, Jack boy, have you been keeping your sis busy?" Mouse asked as she hiked up her backpack. "I'll bet you liked your present, huh?"

He was unsurprised that she had known about the egg; after all, she had been there when it was produced. "You bet I did!" he said, grinning at the wonderful memory. "It was the best birthday ever!"

"How did you get here?" Heather asked. "I thought you were at least a week behind us. The plan was to meet at Oreburgh City."

"It was, but there was good weather during the ocean crossing and I arrived in Sinnoh earlier than anticipated. Rather than wait around, I rented a bike and came up on Cycling Road." She shifted her position again and grimaced. "Maybe pushed myself a bit too hard though; my legs feel like licorice."

"Stupid," said Heather affectionately, shaking her head before indicating that they should continue to walk into town. "Well, you'll be able to rest for a day or two. Jack wants to challenge the Gym."

"Do you, now?" asked a bright voice, and the trio looked to one side to see a strapping young woman wearing brown cut-off shorts, a green sweater with a poncho over her shoulders, and army boots. She held up a finger in warning. "The Gym Leader specializes in grass-types but that doesn't mean it's a pushover!"

Mouse eyed her critically. "That confident, are you, Gym Leader?"

"Gym Leader?" chorused Jack and Heather in awe.

"It pays to know who your opponents are," Mouse said smugly.

"All right, point taken," Heather said as she rolled her eyes.

The girl smiled. "I'm Gardenia, the Eterna City Gym Leader. If you folks want to battle me, you'll have to wait until tomorrow. My last challenger was this really serious boy with an Arcanine who came very close to beating me, so my Pokémon need to rest."

Heather muttered, "I think that would be Ken."

"Yes, that was his name," Gardenia said. "He's a rival of yours, from the sound of that. I got the impression that he evolved his Pokémon quickly, because they - the ones he used in our battle at least - didn't know some of the moves that I expected them to have."

"It's not good to short-change your Pokémon that way," Jack said, feeling a little annoyed. "I'm a relatively new trainer and even I know that."

"Well then, I expect a good battle from you, kid. But I'll warn you, no one gets to battle with me until the end. You'll have to beat all the other Gym Trainers first." She swiveled and walked away with a wave. "Don't disappoint me!"

* * *

><p>After spending the night at the Pokémon Centre, the three friends approached the impressive building that housed the Gym. Perched on a small rise in the middle of a grassy field, its walls were supported by columns that were all but invisible underneath the vines that twined around them.<p>

Jack fiddled with his hair nervously. This would be his first Gym battle. The previous evening he had been so unsettled that he hadn't been able to sleep. "So who goes first?"

"That honour is yours, bro," Heather replied, gripping his shoulder in affection and reassurance. "Mouse and I will cheer for you. Here's a tip, though: if you feel that your Pokémon are too tired after battling the junior trainers, you may go back to the Pokémon Centre to heal them before you face Gardenia. Most Gyms allow that."

He sighed. Nervous or not, there was no backing out now. "Thanks." Then he set his jaw, held up his head in determination and knocked on the large wooden door. "My name is Jack Drake from Twilight Village and I am here to challenge the Gym!"

The door opened onto a huge roofless arena that contained a miniature forest. "Your challenge is accepted," a female voice called. "You must find and defeat all four of us before the Gym Leader will appear."

Having played similar games in the woods at home, Jack had little trouble with the trainers. He alternated between Kojin his Torchic, and Chandra his Chimchar, enabling them to gain experience equally. The fourth trainer's Roselia gave Chandra a hard time, but after learning the Flame Wheel move in the middle of the battle, she was able to defeat it.

He then excused himself, taking Heather's advice to return to the Pokémon Centre to heal his team, since he wanted to be able to battle at full strength.

The second time he entered the Gym, Gardenia was standing in a clearing in the centre of the arena. "You kept me waiting long enough," she called. "But I had a hunch that you'd be able to reach me. Let's see how well you do against my Pokémon!" She tossed a PokéBall into the air. "Cherubi, it's time for battle!"

Jack didn't hesitate. "I choose you, Kojin!" The Torchic appeared.

One of the trainers that Jack had defeated earlier stepped forward to act as the referee. "This will be a three-on-three battle with no time limit, and only the challenger may make substitutions. Begin!"

"Kojin, Ember!" He knew Gardenia would probably assume he would use a fire move right away, but he wanted to see how she would react.

"Magical Leaf!" The Cherubi pirouetted and created a whirlwind of brightly coloured leaves that intercepted the Ember attack, filling the centre of the arena with smoke as they burned, and obscuring the Pokémon. "Tackle!" Gardenia called.

Tensing, Jack thought quickly. The attack could come from anywhere, so he needed to get Kojin out of harm's way. "Dig!" The bird immediately tunnelled into the ground, eliciting an astonished gasp from the Gym Leader as her Cherubi emerged from the smoke and pummelled the empty spot where Kojin had been.

"A Torchic that knows Dig?" Gardenia asked with a grin. "This is getting interesting!"

"You haven't seen anything yet," Jack promised with an avid smile. "Kojin, Ember!"

Flames shot out through the hole in the field, singeing the Cherubi's leaves. In the next instant, Kojin emerged from the ground and dealt the grass Pokémon a severe blow, hurling it across the arena.

Cherubi righted itself and gave a little shake as the smoke cleared. "Use Leech Seed, now!" called the Gym Leader.

"I don't think so! Kojin, use Agility and dodge it!" The Torchic sprang upwards and seemed to disappear, leaving its opponent looking around in confusion. "Now, Peck!" The Cherubi was unable to avoid the sharp beak, and hit the earth in a faint.

"Cherubi is unable to battle; Torchic wins!" the referee said.

"I'm impressed, Jack!" called Gardenia as she returned her Cherubi to its PokéBall. "But don't start thinking you can beat me! Turtwig, go!" She threw another PokéBall, from which emerged the Tiny Leaf Pokémon.

"Kojin, return!" Jack wanted his Torchic to rest, since he suspected that Gardenia was saving her best Pokémon for last. "Zera, time for battle!"

Gardenia raised an eyebrow in surprise as Jack's Luxio appeared. "An Electric type now? Its attacks won't do much against Turtwig! Razor Leaf, go!"

"Counter it with Thunderbolt!" The two attacks cancelled each other out. "Quick, now Leer!" Zera crouched and stared at the Turtwig with an intimidating gaze, and it hesitated. "Bite it!"

"Turtwig, Withdraw!" The Pokémon gave a little shake and pulled itself into its shell, negating the effect of the Leer. Zera clamped her teeth onto it but couldn't get a very good hold. "Now, Absorb!"

called Gardenia, and Zera squealed as her energy was sapped from her.

"Zera, get out of there!" Jack cried, and his Luxio managed to stagger backwards to a safe distance. She had taken major damage, so he needed to act quickly. "Time to charge up!" Zera drew in energy as the Turtwig emerged from its shell. "Now, Spark!" Sparkling with electricity, Zera charged.

With a confident smirk, Gardenia said, "Grass Knot!" The Turtwig focused on the ground, and vines sprouted under Zera's feet, tripping her and holding her down. "Now then: Razor Leaf!" Zera struggled futilely as the leaves surrounded her and knocked her out.

"Luxio is unable to battle! Turtwig wins!"

"Nice try, Jack!" Gardenia said. "But you have to do better."

He gaped open-mouthed at Zera's prone body for a moment before clenching his fists; he had to stay focused. "Oh, I will," he retorted as he recalled Zera and sent out Kojin again. This time he would nail it. "Kojin, Double Team!" Suddenly the Turtwig was surrounded by several Torchics.

Once again the Gym Leader was caught off-guard by such an unexpected move. "Turtwig, hit them all with Razor Leaf!"

"Jump and use Peck!" Leaves flew around the area, eliminating the Torchic duplicates one by one, but the real one unerringly struck with its Peck attack, doing major damage. As the Turtwig wavered, Jack ordered, "Now, Ember!" and Kojin blasted his opponent at close range.

"Turtwig is unable to battle! Torchic wins!"

Gardenia recalled her Turtwig. "You think you have me cornered? Think again! Roserade, it's your turn!" With a flash, a green humanoid-shaped creature with white hair and flowers for hands appeared on the field.

Jack was awed at the sight, but quickly recovered and checked his Pokédex. "Roserade: the Bouquet Pokémon and the evolved form of Roselia. It attracts prey with a sweet aroma, and then downs it with thorny whips hidden in its arms." Numbers-wise he had the advantage, with two Pokémon as opposed to one, but this was a Gym battle and things could turn around very quickly.

"Let's do this, Roserade!" Gardenia yelled. "Weather Ball!" The Pokémon leaped into a sunny spot and began to gather energy.

"I'm not letting you do that! Kojin, Sand Attack!" The bird kicked up large gouts of sand, blotting out the sunshine and spoiling Roserade's aim. "Now, Ember!"

The Roserade did manage to fire off its attack, but although it wasn't as powerful as it otherwise could have been, it was enough to counter the Ember and create a brilliant explosion in the middle of the arena. Both Pokémon took damage and were thrown into the air. "Grass Knot!" Gardenia ordered.

Vines sprouted from the ground once more. Roserade caught one and gracefully lowered itself back to earth, but Kojin was snared by one foot and slammed down. "Kojin, are you okay?" called Jack. His Torchic struggled briefly, and then fainted.

"Torchic is unable to battle. Roserade wins!"

Jack recalled Kojin and growled to himself in frustration. Now they each had one Pokémon. It was obvious that Grass Knot move was an integral part of Gardenia's battling strategy and was something he had to watch out for. "Chandra, time in!" His Chimchar appeared.

"Another fire type, huh?" Gardenia said. "That won't make a difference. Roserade, Magical Leaf."

"Flame Wheel, go!" Chandra sheathed herself in fire and someraulted toward the Roserade, but amazingly, the swirling leaves had enough force behind them to slow her down enough so that very little damage got through.

"Surprised? Then try this: Grass Knot!"

Jack grinned, which perplexed Gardenia as well as those watching the battle. He'd predicted that she would use that move again. "Fury Swipes!" As the vines burst out of the field, Chandra tore them to pieces with her claws. "Now, Taunt!"

"What?" Both Heather and Mouse stood in alarm at Jack's risky move, and the Gym Leader was even more shocked. However Jack's attention remained on the battlefield as his Chimchar cheekily beckoned to the Roserade, which became agitated and flung a Poison Sting attack.

"Dodge and counter with Ember!" Chandra's fiery attack walloped Roserade and knocked it back, but not quite enough.

"Clever of you to do that, forcing Roserade to only use attack moves," Gardenia admitted. "So I can't use Grass Knot, but I'm not finished yet! Mega Drain!" The Chimchar howled as her energy was transferred to the Roserade, leaving her listless and barely able to stand.

"Chandra, stay strong!" Jack called in encouragement, staring at her intently, as if his effort of will could keep her in the fight. A few seconds passed, then she looked up at the Roserade with a fierce expression as a fiery aura surrounded her. Jack's strategy had been rewarded: Chandra's Blaze ability had been triggered and the effectiveness of her fire moves would increase! "Don't give in! Flame Wheel!"

The Chimchar's flaming form raced toward the Roserade at such a speed that it couldn't be avoided. The impact threw the Bouquet Pokémon out of the ring and it smacked into the wall of the arena.

"Roserade is unable to battle! Chimchar wins, therefore the winner of this match is Jack of Twilight Village!"

Jack stared slack-jawed at the referee, almost unbelieving. He had actually won his first official Gym battle! As his sister and Mouse cheered from the stands, he strode forward joyously to accept his Forest Badge.


	6. Chapter 6

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Six: Fire in the Hole

The next morning, after Mouse had challenged Gardenia to a battle and defeated her handily (her high-level Typhlosion far outclassed the Gym Leader's grass-types), the trio rented bicycles and began the easy downhill ride along Cycling Road toward Oreburgh City.

Halfway to their destination they came to a rest stop, where they parked their bikes and had a much appreciated break. "It's harder going the other way, obviously," Mouse said, wincing. "My legs are still sore. I haven't been on a bike in a while." She gazed over the railing for a moment, and pointed to a rocky outcropping in the distance. "Over there you can see the entrance to Wayward Cave."

"What's that?" asked Jack as he looked out, squinting a bit in the bright sunlight. Under the elevated road was a narrow grassy path that wound through the hills until it reached a bluff.

Mouse replied, "It's a place that has a variety of rare Pokémon, so I heard. But the only way to get to that path is just outside the north gate out of Oreburgh. I passed it on the way to meet you."

He perked up. With luck, maybe he could catch a rare ground or rock type to add to his team. "So could we check it out after I challenge the Oreburgh Gym Leader?"

Heather smiled at his enthusiasm. "I don't see why not."

"Yes!" He pumped a fist in the air with glee. "So, Mouse, what else have you been doing other than running to catch us? How are your other Pokémon?"

She grinned, showing the gap between her front teeth. "They're fine. I left most of them at home with Professor Elm; I brought only my Typhlosion and Raichu with me. Since I arrived I've caught three more, but-" She was interrupted as one of her Pokémon emerged on its own. It was small with alternating brown and cream stripes of spiky fur, and a black mask on its face.

"A Zigzagoon!" Jack exclaimed as he confirmed its identity on his Pokédex, and made a mental note to research it later.

Heather was also astounded. "Aren't they very rare here?"

"They are," Mouse confirmed, holding up a PokéBall with a severe expression. The Zigzagoon reluctantly returned to it. "Technically I didn't find it in the wild. It had somehow hidden on board the ship, and was very hungry and sad by the time one of the crew found it. Most of the trainers aboard were just finishing their circuit of Johto and didn't want another Pokémon so I volunteered."

Jack was impressed that she had chosen to take the responsibility of raising a Pokémon that she hadn't planned to catch. "Wow! That was really nice of you!"

"Thanks. My other two are Bidoof." Seeing their confusion, she held up one hand to forestall any questions. "I know what you're going to say: Bidoof is a boring normal type and its evolved form is weak against grass. But I'm training each of them differently; you'll see."

"Still, how will you be able to defeat Roark, the Oreburgh Gym Leader?" asked Jack. "He uses rock types and neither of you have Pokémon that can use water moves."

"That won't stop me," said Mouse confidently.

Heather laughed. "Don't worry about her, Jack."

"I know, and I need to develop my own strategy some more," he said thoughtfully. "I figure that beating one Gym Leader the first time I face them doesn't mean that I'll be able to beat all of the others."

* * *

><p>It turned out that when they arrived at Oreburgh City, the Leader wasn't at the Gym. Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Centre told them that on most days Roark worked with his Pokémon in the mines to the south of town, and would only agree to battle if challengers could find him. Jack was frustrated with this news, but the girls knew from experience that many Gym Leaders had unique methods of testing potential challengers prior to the actual battle.<p>

After passing through a large area of steel arches and construction equipment, they discovered that the only way into the mine was a steep staircase with a conveyor belt that ran on either side. Workmen were busily shoveling coal off the conveyors into trucks with the help of their Pokémon, which were predominantly Machop.

Jack hugged himself and shivered despite the warm day. He wasn't claustrophobic, but the thought of descending into whatever lay in the darkness beyond the entrance made him anxious.

"First time here, kids?" a rough voice asked. They turned to see a miner who wore green coveralls and a hard hat. "If you're nervous about going down, I'll keep you company since I'm going in for my shift; my name's Mason. I'll bet you're looking for Roark?"

"Yes, sir," Jack said eagerly. "I'm going to challenge him."

"Good lad," said Mason, clapping him on the shoulder. "He never backs down from a battle. Come with me."

The group was halfway down the stairs when there was a low rumble from below and the rock vibrated slightly under their feet. Alarms went off, reverberating through the tunnel. "There wasn't supposed to be any blasting today," Mason said worriedly. "There might be trouble!"

"Let's go see if we can help," Heather suggested, and they all raced down the remaining steps into the mine proper.

The passage came to a T junction; the right-hand tunnel was unoccupied but the far end of the left-hand tunnel was obscured by clouds of dust. In the distance echoed shouts and the sounds of Pokémon battles. The foursome ran as far as they could until the billowing dust rendered it almost impossible to see, and they were forced to stop.

"We shouldn't go any further," cautioned Mason. "For all we know, there might have been a cave-in."

Heather insisted, "We need to clear the air," as she pulled a PokéBall from her belt. "Eagle, come out! Use Whirlwind to blow the dust away!" Her Pidgeot emerged and flapped his large wings with such force that the dust was blasted away and drawn out of one of the mine's air vents at the end of the tunnel.

"Nice one," Mouse complemented, and they continued to follow Mason through the mine until they came to a large rock fall that blocked half the tunnel. On the other side there were the clear sounds of Pokémon coming to grips: roars, grunts, and the whoosh of fire attacks.

Mason tested a few of the stones for stability, and some came loose and rolled to the floor. "I don't recommend trying to break through this. It might cause more damage, and whoever's on the other side will get hurt."

"But we can climb over it," Jack said brashly and began to scramble up the pile, dislodging a few small rocks in the process. His sister voiced a protest but he ignored it as he clambered to the top. He just had to see what was going on!

The sight that met his eyes when he was able to peer over the barrier was amazing and scary all at once. Roark himself, wearing gray coveralls and a red hard hat, was using a Rampardos in battle against an opponent with a Houndoom. Beyond them lay the unconscious bodies of several miners and Pokémon, and all were covered in dust and soot.

"Give it up, Roark!" his opponent ordered. He wore futuristic looking black and white coveralls with white boots, and his straight hair was brown at the scalp and a bluish colour at the ends as if at one time it had been dyed. "I'm losing patience!" Flourishing his left arm, he aimed some sort of device at the Rampardos and shot a pellet which enlarged into a net, entangling the Pokémon.

Jack gasped in indignation. He couldn't let a Pokémon be treated like that! Leaping down to the floor, he brought one of his PokéBalls out. "Lewelyn, Water Gun!" His Buizel's water attack arced through the air and struck the Houndoom squarely, but although it should have been super effective, the Dark Pokémon didn't seem fazed. Stunned, Jack froze. Why hadn't it worked?

"Don't!" cried Roark as he noticed Jack's intervention. "It's too powerful for you!"

The stranger snarled, "Beat it, kid! This is none of your business. Houndoom, Roar!"

The blast of sound assailed Jack's ears and his Buizel returned to its PokéBall in terror, to be replaced by Kojin, his Torchic. Upon spying the Torchic, the stranger's eyes narrowed and a look of avarice crossed his face. "A Torchic? Now THAT would be worth it!" He aimed his left arm at Kojin.

"Pi-ka-CHUU!" Both the stranger and his Houndoom were enveloped in a brilliant electrical aura, which Jack recognized immediately as Loki's Thunderbolt. Delighted, he glanced over his shoulder to see Heather and Mouse both squatting precariously on top of the rock fall. "You leave my brother alone, you bully!" his sister shouted.

The man recalled his Houndoom, which had fainted, and fled through a large hole in the wall of the mine. At once Jack tried to pursue, but Roark grabbed his shirt. "Let him go, you've done enough."

"But-" he protested angrily.

"He's right." Heather carefully scrabbled down the rocks, and Loki hopped onto her shoulders. "You might have helped save his Pokémon."

Roark turned back to his Rampardos which was still tangled in the net, panting from its efforts to free itself. "This doesn't look like an ordinary net; I've never seen this kind of material," he observed as he pulled one of the ropes. "I have a knife, but I'm not sure if it'll cut this."

By this time Mouse had reached them and held up a PokéBall. "Let me try. Typhlosion, use Cut on the net!" The Pokémon's claws made short work of the ropes and freed the Rampardos, which slumped in exhaustion.

After recalling his Pokémon, Roark turned to them. "I'm so grateful to all of you! If you hadn't shown up, he could very well have taken my Rampardos."

"So who was that?" asked Jack as he recalled Kojin. He was still irritated at being prevented from chasing the stranger. As far as he was concerned, anyone who tried to steal or harm Pokémon had no right to be running around free.

"We'll have to talk about that later," Roark said with a serious expression, and none of them dared contradict him; he was the expert here after all. "My first priority is to ensure the safety of the mine and the workers."

"One of your men, Mason, is on the other side of there," Mouse informed him, pointing at the rock pile. "He said to tell you that he'll round up a team to help clear the rocks."

"Good," said Roark with relief. "You three help the injured men and Pokémon get out of here. I don't know how long it's going to take to seal this hole and shore up the wall, but I promise you that I'll send word as soon as I can."

It took some effort, but with the help of their Pokémon the three of them assisted the injured men and Pokémon to the surface. As thanks for their help, one of the foremen gave each of them a pretty coloured sphere.


	7. Chapter 7

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Seven: Rocks and Hard Places

The worker Mason dropped by the Pokémon Centre the following morning as the kids were finishing breakfast, with the news that repairs to the mine would take several days. "But it's nothing we can't handle," he said. "Roark is confident in our skills, and the work doesn't require him to be there the whole time. So if any of you want to show him your skills, he's available."

"So he's at the Gym now?" Jack asked, keen for a battle.

Mason nodded. "Good luck!"

Oreburgh Gym's impressive facade made the building look like it had been carved out of stone. Unlike his challenge to the Eterna City Gym, this time Jack didn't hesitate to march up to the doors and fling them open. Although he knew that Roark was already waiting for him, he felt that it would be proper to issue a formal declaration. "I am Jack from Twilight Village and I want to battle the Gym Leader!" he shouted. The long room with walls made of stone slabs amplified his voice.

"Welcome, Jack!" Roark called from a raised platform at the far end. "I am Roark the Rock! I walk proudly with rock type Pokémon. You will be facing me directly. Your bravery yesterday impressed me, so you've earned the privilege of not having to battle my junior trainers first." He waved and a large door ground open behind him to reveal the battlefield. "Enter!"

After they took their positions at either end, a junior trainer stepped into the referee's position. "The battle between Gym Leader Roark and the challenger Jack of Twilight Village will now commence! Each side will use three Pokémon, and only the challenger may make substitutions. Begin!"

Roark brought out his first Pokémon. "Geodude, let's go!"

"I'm so ready for this!" Jack said, trying to keep his confidence up. "Lewelyn, I choose you!" His Buizel appeared and faced the Geodude.

The obvious type disadvantage didn't seem to bother Roark. "Geodude, Rock Throw!"

"Lewelyn, dodge and use Water Gun!" The Buizel leaped into the air and avoided the projectile easily, and then spewed a torrent of water at the Geodude which took severe damage.

"Stealth Rock!" ordered Roark. As Lewelyn landed on the field, about a dozen stones burst from the ground and encircled the spot where the Buizel was standing. "Now this ought to make things more difficult," Roark said as Lewelyn glanced around nervously. "Your Buizel is safe for now, but Stealth Rock damages any Pokémon that switches in."

Jack ground his teeth and his heart pounded. He was essentially being forced to use Lewelyn until the Pokémon fainted. But he could still use that to his advantage. "Sonic Boom!" The Geodude dodged, but the faster Buizel pursued until the Geodude eventually wore out.

"Geodude is unable to battle; Buizel wins!"

Roark's second Pokémon was an Onix, a huge serpent-like creature that looked like it was made of stone. It towered over them all, and Jack's eyes were riveted to the sight. How could a relatively small Buizel defeat such a thing?

The Gym Leader took immediate advantage of Jack's hesitation. "Onix, Screech!" The piercing sound caused everyone to cover their ears in discomfort. He followed up by calling out "Bind!" and the Onix responded by whipping its tail around and wrapping the Buizel tightly.

The Buizel cried out and Jack gasped; because of his inattention, Lewelyn was now trapped and unable to use many moves. He had to act quickly! "Use Water Gun at its head!" His Pokémon spit the water out, catching the Onix in the face, and it thrashed around as it tried to clear its vision. The moment the coils loosened, Lewelyn scrambled free. Now was the time to try the combination move that he had been working on! "Now, Sound Wave!"

"WHAT?" exclaimed Roark, but he had no time to figure out what was going on as the Buizel lashed its tail to create a Sonic Boom and then quickly flipped over to release a Water Gun. The two attacks merged and raced toward the Onix. "Onix, Tackle, now!"

Buizel's attack hit squarely, but the bulky Onix slammed down on the field at the same time, rattling the entire room and filling the air with dust. When the dust finally settled, both Pokémon lay fainted on the ground. "Both Pokémon are unable to battle; this round is a draw!"

The combatants recalled their Pokémon. "Think you can take down the next one?" Roark asked. His demeanor still looked solid but his voice quavered slightly. "Cranidos, go!"

"Huh?" Jack was a bit taken aback and consulted his Pokédex to find out that it was the pre-evolved form of Rampardos. It seemed that the Gym Leader had been rattled by the defeat of his Onix; had he called out the wrong Pokémon by mistake? "I expected your Rampardos!"

"Normally I would have used him," Roark acknowledged, "but Nurse Joy said that he still needed to rest after that incident yesterday. But don't underestimate me just because I'm using a different Pokémon."

"Oh, I won't. Chandra, time in!" He released his Chimchar, but the moment she appeared, the Stealth Rock from earlier rose up and pummelled her for a few seconds before dropping back to the ground. She wavered slightly before regaining her footing and focusing on the Cranidos. "Stay strong, Chandra!" he instructed.

Roark adjusted his hard hat. "Interesting choice, since Cranidos is strong against fire types. Headbutt, let's go!" Cranidos charged.

"Flame Wheel, go!" The two Pokémon collided in the middle of the arena and appeared to bounce off each other. Chandra flew into the air, shrieking in pain. The Cranidos stomped on the ground and roared as if to announce its superiority, but suddenly cringed as it was wrapped in flames for a few seconds: it had been burned. "Nice going, Chandra!" Jack exclaimed as the Chimchar landed on her feet unsteadily. "Can you keep battling?" She nodded.

"A little burn won't keep my Cranidos down! Take Down, now!" The Pokémon lowered its head and sped toward the Chimchar like a battering ram, but Chandra easily leaped over it. However in the next instant the Cranidos whirled and smacked Chandra aside with one of its powerful hind legs. The Chimchar hit the ground hard, and Cranidos stumbled as it was once more affected by its burn.

Jack's mind raced as he tried to devise a way to break the stalemate. Chandra was now very badly hurt, and even if her Blaze ability activated, her fire attacks wouldn't harm Cranidos very much. Lewelyn had fainted, and none of his other Pokémon was up to this task. He had to push onward. "Come on, Chandra, you can do this! Just a little more!"

The Chimchar struggled to her feet... and began to glow. Jack stared in wonder; that wasn't the glow of Blaze activating, it was different! Chandra was evolving! The Pokémon's shape grew larger and her tail flamed brighter than before: she was now a Monferno. Another aura appeared, this time around her fists. Jack immediately knew what had happened, and eyed the Gym Leader with a satisfied smile.

"Is that-?" exclaimed Roark.

"You bet it is!" Jack shot back in exultation. "Chandra, Mach Punch, now!"

"Cranidos, Take Down!" His order came a bit too late. The Monferno's punch hit with enough force to bowl Cranidos over and it slammed to the ground.

"Cranidos is unable to battle! Monferno wins! The victory goes to Jack!"

"All right!" he crowed, and then ran up to Chandra and hugged her jubilantly. "You evolved and learned Mach Punch! Awesome!"

"Well done, Jack!" Heather cheered from the stands.

Roark recalled his Cranidos and adjusted his hard hat in resignation before walking into the arena. "Congratulations, Jack!" He took a small box out of a pocket in his coveralls, and opened it to reveal a badge. "You were strong. Since you've beaten me, here's your official Coal Badge."

* * *

><p>To the kids' surprise, Roark accompanied them back to the Pokémon Centre. "After a fine battle like that, you deserve to know what happened yesterday. That man with the Houndoom called himself Hunter K. Apparently he had accessed the Sinnoh Underground Passage complex and tunnelled through into the Oreburgh Mine, with the intent of stealing my Rampardos."<p>

"But it's okay, right?" Jack asked anxiously. "We scared him off, didn't we?"

Mouse shook her head. "That doesn't mean he won't try again. It would be helpful to know what that jerk's reasons are."

Roark said, "The police have a theory that he was once a member of an evil organization called Team Galactic, that was trying to control the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh. They were disbanded last year, but this guy must have got a hold of some technology and is using it to hunt rare Pokémon for money."

"That's probably why he was after your Rampardos," Jack realized, "and why he seemed so interested in my Torchic, because there aren't many in Sinnoh and they're valuable. This is bad." He shuddered, not liking the thought that his Pokémon could be in danger.

"So can we assume that the Underground is off-limits for now?" Heather inquired. "Not that we were planning to visit it."

"It should be relatively safe," Roark assured her. "It's a huge place; you could be down there for days and not see anyone. But if he's using the system to break into caves and places where there are rare Pokémon, that's a problem."

Jack sighed heavily as they passed through the doors to the Pokémon Centre. "I was hoping that we could explore Wayward Cave, and maybe find a new Pokémon for my team."

"Excuse me, did you say Wayward Cave?" asked Nurse Joy who had overheard his statement. "It was just on the news." She indicated a TV screen that hung nearby. They all watched as a report came on that told of a mysterious explosion that had occurred in the hills near the Wayward Cave, and the resulting landslide had blocked the entrance and panicked the local Pokémon. Work crews were trying frantically to clear the slide because of concerns that trainers might be trapped inside the cave.

"I'm sorry Jack," Heather said compassionately when she saw her brother's appalled expression. "I know how much you wanted to see it."

"I've heard trainers talk about a secret entrance," said Nurse Joy, "but given all that's happened I advise against going there right now. You'd best go on to the next town."

Jack shuffled across the room and dejectedly slumped into a chair. How could a day go from being so great to so wrong? "I guess we don't have much choice," he grumbled.

The others joined him. "Hey, cheer up!" Mouse urged. "You got your second badge! What's wrong with that?"

"There are hardships in any journey," commented Heather. "I've had my share, and I'm sure any other trainer will tell you the same. You just pick yourself up and keep going."

Mouse checked her map and pointed at it. "I don't know about you guys, but I want to check out the Pokémon Contest at Hearthome City." Before the others could ask, she lifted her finger and clarified. "A Pokémon Contest is a special competition where your Pokémon are judged on their appearance and moves."

"I heard about that Contest," said Roark. "It's in a few days, so you won't have time to take the main road. There's a path to Hearthome City through Mount Coronet, but you absolutely have to know where you're going because of the maze of tunnels and cliffs. It's easy to get lost." He pulled a notepad out of one of his pockets. "I've been that way often, so I'll write the directions for you."

Jack's mood improved and he managed a smile. "I wanted to see a cave; it looks like we'll be seeing one after all!"


	8. Chapter 8

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Eight: Follow That Tune

Two days later the three friends were traversing the rocky trail that led to the western entrance of Mount Coronet. So far things had been fairly quiet except for a few battles with trainers and wild Pokémon that they encountered. During one battle between Mouse and a hiker, Jack finally got to see her two Bidoof. Despite being the same species, the two couldn't have been more different. One wore a Mystic Water pendant around its neck and used water moves with grace; the other had a Black Belt tied around its midriff and was a solid fighter.

When he asked after the battle where she had obtained such cool-looking items, Mouse laughed. "I was given the Black Belt by a trainer when I helped him get it back from a thief," she replied. "The Mystic Water came from a place called the Weather Institute; do you remember?" she asked as she turned to Heather with an amused look.

"Oh, yeah," Heather drawled gustily. "We were on our way to Fortree City to challenge the Gym there, but there were some bullies causing trouble at the only bridge across the river in that area. We could easily have bypassed them by flying over, but decided to challenge them instead. If we won, we told them, they had to clear out and stop harassing other trainers."

"And the scientists at the Weather Institute gave us the Mystic Water as a thank-you gift," Mouse concluded. "Heather let me keep it because she didn't think she could use it." She stopped abruptly and eyed the hills that surrounded them. "Did you hear something?"

A small rock came loose from somewhere up above and dropped onto the path in front of them. Before any of them could react, a blur of purple with a pair of claws swooped around them, bringing up a whirl of sand. They were all forced to crouch down and shield their faces. "It's a Sand Attack!" Heather cried, and opened one of her PokéBalls. "Eagle, Gust!" The Pidgeot obeyed, and the sand was quickly blown away to reveal a purple Pokémon that looked like a cross between a bat and a scorpion. It landed on its pointed tail and stuck out its tongue cheekily.

"It's a Gligar!" exclaimed Mouse, and brought out the PokéBall that contained her water-using Bidoof with a competitive leer. "I'm going to catch it!"

Jack flipped open his Pokédex. "Gligar, the Flyscorpion Pokémon. It sails on the winds with its limbs extended to strike from the sky."

It wasn't much of a battle. Mouse's Bidoof was well trained, or the Gligar was a very low level; one hit was all it took to bring the Gligar down and capture it. "That's number six!" she exulted. "Now my Sinnoh team is complete. What about you two?"

"Mostly," was Heather's response. "My team is full, but there's another Pokémon called Chatot that I want to send back to Christy."

Jack said, "I still have to catch two." He was feeling rather discouraged at his lack of progress in that department compared to the girls. "Since Wayward Cave was blocked I couldn't catch the Gible that I wanted, and that's the only place where it's known to live."

"I've heard it said that the right kind of Pokémon will find you," said Mouse. "But then again, there are trainers who are so picky that they scan every Pokémon they find to determine how strong it is and see if it's worth their time."

"What do you mean, scan?" Jack asked. "I've never heard of such a thing."

Mouse's face contorted into a very strange expression; clearly she was trying not to laugh. Heather gave her an annoyed look. After a moment she took a deep breath and said, "Sorry. I thought you were intentionally journeying by the seat of your pants, but it seems you really didn't know. There's a function of the Pokédex that enables you to scan a Pokémon to find out its abilities. That way you can judge its strength and level."

"Really? When were you girls going to tell me this? And there actually are trainers who won't catch Pokémon if they're not strong enough? That sounds kind of selfish."

"I just found out the other day," Heather admitted. "It's a new feature that only became available recently. I didn't see the point of mentioning it because I thought you wanted to catch Pokémon based on preference or merit, rather than statistics."

Mouse shrugged. "And you know what, it is selfish, not to mention lazy. If you don't want to put in the time to train a Pokémon from a lower level, you might as well just trade up."

By this time they had reached the entrance to the Mount Coronet path, a huge rocky archway that led into the base of a cliff. Numerous smaller peaks surrounded the massive snow-covered mountain in the distance to the north. Somewhere up there, Jack knew, was the home of the two legendary Sinnoh Pokémon, Dialga and Palkia.

"Pika?" Heather's Pikachu sprang ahead and stopped in front of them. "Pika pika!" He waved a paw toward the dark entrance.

"What's the matter, Loki?" Jack asked.

Heather scowled and looked ahead into the gloom. "He hears something."

"Come on," scoffed Mouse. "It's probably the wind blowing through."

"Maybe, but I trust his instincts. Sounds travel quickly through rock; that disturbance at Wayward Cave might have caused a problem here too."

"Ha, you're just being paranoid," Mouse said, but in the next instant her Zigzagoon let itself out of its PokéBall. It sniffed the air, cocked its head as if to listen to something, and then raced away into the tunnel. "Stripes! Come back here!" Mouse yelled, and after sending a flustered glance toward her companions, she pursued.

"Come on, Jack," Heather urged. "Zigzagoon are known to be able to find things. It's possible that something is going on in there." She dug a flashlight out of her backpack, and the two of them followed Mouse at a run.

The cave was larger than any Jack had ever seen, and although the air was reasonably fresh it was quite humid: they passed a small lake as Mouse's Zigzagoon led them through. None of the humans could keep up with the fast pace set by the Pokémon, but to its credit, it paused once in a while so that they could catch up and take a breather. As time passed, Loki became more agitated as his acute hearing picked up whatever it was that Stripes was chasing.

To their dismay, the path ended at a loosely packed rock fall and they were forced to stop. "I recognise this kind of formation," Mouse panted. "Does anyone have a Pokémon who knows Rock Smash?"

Heather shook her head, unable to speak as she gasped for air.

"No," Jack croaked. "Chandra can learn it but she doesn't actually know it."

"Zigzagoon!" Stripes called to them, and they craned their necks up to see the Pokémon sitting atop a high ridge to their left.

Mouse groaned, "You've got to be kidding. You expect us to climb that?"

"No, look here," Jack said as he caught Heather's arm and angled her flashlight's beam toward the rock face, revealing a steep set of stairs carved into it.

Loki scampered up the stairs and joined Stripes at the top as the three friends wearily crawled up. "We can't continue," Heather declared when they reached a relatively flat area near the summit. "My stomach tells me that it's way past dinner time, and there's no way we'll be able to reach the exit tonight."

"So whatever you two are after," Mouse said as she pointed at the Pokémon, "will have to wait. We're camping here." Her Zigzagoon seemed to accept that: it walked calmly over to her and began to groom itself. She gave an irritated snort. "Crazy Pokémon."

"Maybe whatever it is has stopped," Jack suggested. "Loki doesn't look like he's in any hurry now either."

"Let's eat and get what rest we can, in case it starts again." Heather cast concerned glances around their rocky surroundings before unclipping her bedroll from her backpack. "And hope that we're not attacked by any wild Pokémon during the night."

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen any since we came in here, and we were making a lot of noise," Mouse said as she settled onto the floor and chomped on a granola bar. "That's just weird."

An unknown amount of time later they were all awakened by a strange noise, a soft melancholy-sounding tune that was wafting from somewhere in the far reaches of the cave. Both Loki and Stripes were excitedly rushing about, trying to encourage their partners to get moving.

"What _is_ that?" Jack wondered before stretching his legs. He had made the mistake of not using an air mattress, and he ached all over. Trying not to groan, he carefully bent down and began to fold up his sleeping bag. "Could it be a Pokémon using Sing?"

"I don't think so," Heather said as she hurriedly organized her equipment. "If it was, we would still be asleep. But it's obviously what we've been chasing."

Mouse tightened the straps on her pack and stood. "This just proves that Pokémon have better senses than we do. I guess we didn't hear it until now because it's closer. Let's hope we find it soon."

The moment the trainers were ready, the Pokémon dashed away once again. They all followed the top of the ridge until it dropped down to the shore of another underground pool, but there were more man-made stairs that made the descent relatively safe. When they reached the bottom, the sound suddenly ceased.

"Now what?" Jack complained as Stripes and Loki stopped and continued to listen for the erratic melody.

Without warning there was a flash of light a short distance away, and a Pokémon appeared! It had a delicate white body with a large head topped by green hair and reddish ear-like horns. Slowly it looked them over with a wistful expression, and then appeared to sigh in disappointment.

"It's a Kirlia!" Mouse exclaimed. "They're native to Houenn."

Heather quickly checked her Pokédex. "Yes, but they can be found in a few places in Sinnoh too. This isn't one of them."

Jack knelt in front of the Kirlia. "Maybe it's lost." Then he gasped as the Pokémon touched him and images flooded into his head: a smiling chestnut-haired trainer, battles which the Kirlia lost, the same trainer angrily walking away. "It showed me its past! Its trainer abandoned it!"

"Oh, no!" Mouse held a hand over her mouth in shock.

Heather crouched next to Jack. "I'm sorry," she told the Kirlia tenderly. "I'll bet that was Lucky Chant we were hearing. You must have been trying to reduce your chances of getting hurt by the wild Pokémon."

"So that's why we haven't seen any," Mouse said. "The Pokémon would have been attracted to the sound the same way that ours were. When things got too rough, Kirlia would stop and use Teleport."

For some reason Jack felt compelled to reach out toward the lost Pokémon. "We can't leave it here. Would you like to come with us?" The Kirlia leaped into his arms with a relieved cry.

"Well, that settles that." Heather rose smoothly. "But you can't keep it, Jack. When we get to the next Pokémon Centre we have to see if we can find out who its trainer is."

He lurched to his feet and said indignantly, "Why? It showed me that its trainer is gone; it was left behind for losing too many battles! What kind of person does that? It doesn't deserve to go back to such a horrible trainer."

Heather opened her mouth to protest, even though Jack had a point, but Mouse laid a hand on her shoulder and interrupted. "Let it go. Kirlia chose him for his compassion, so this is his responsibility now."

"Well then, bro, I guess you've caught yourself a Kirlia," she conceded with a smile. "You might like to know that it's male; I checked when I scanned it. That means it has the potential to evolve into Gallade, which is a fighting type that I know you'd want."

"Awesome!" He jubilantly held up the Kirlia and it gave a contented chirrup.

"You wanted more Pokémon, Jack," Mouse said with satisfaction. "It looks like your wish has been granted."

Jack took an empty PokéBall out of his pack and the Kirlia willingly entered it. With a new friend on his team, things were definitely looking brighter! "I think I'll call him Grant."


	9. Chapter 9

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Nine: Contest Confusion

The Hearthome City Gym was a massive multi-story stone building with intricately carved doors. On them there was a large sign: "The Gym Leader Fantina is unavailable. Please come back another day."

"WHAT?" the three friends chorused at the sight.

Mouse groaned, "That's not fair! We wanted to challenge her."

A click sounded from inside, and the door creaked open slightly as a green-haired trainer poked her head out. "I thought I heard someone out here. I'm sorry folks, but if you're looking for Fantina, she's at the Contest Hall today." She withdrew and shut the door.

They all turned and walked half-heartedly back out to the street. "That's right, Mouse; didn't you want to see the Contest?" Heather asked.

Mouse grinned widely and half-closed her eyes: an expression that Jack knew meant she was up to something. "Yes, I did, but on the way here I started to think that I could _enter_ the Contest!" She poked a finger toward her friend. "And maybe you should too."

Heather was quite taken by surprise. "Are you kidding me? I don't know anything about Pokémon Contests! I'm a Gym Leader."

"_Former_ Gym Leader, sis," Jack corrected her. "Besides, you haven't been challenging any of the Gyms so far here in Sinnoh. That doesn't seem like you."

Putting her hands on her hips, Mouse regarded Heather with some suspicion. "Yeah, I was wondering about that. What's going on?"

She huffed in exasperation. "Come on. This journey is for Jack, not for me! I'm trying to be a supporter, not a rival."

"That's an excuse, and you know it," Mouse retorted. "How much did we push each other when we were in Houenn? It kept us at the top of our game. If you really want to help your bro, you can't get lazy."

"Well, we can't go all the way back to Oreburgh now." She pursed her lips as she considered. "All right," she said reluctantly. "I'll enter, but I highly doubt I'll win."

Jack nudged her with a playful look. "Don't sell yourself short, sis!" he said in encouragement. "You've always done well at anything you've tried." He smiled as he remembered how jealous he used to get of her, for that very reason.

It didn't take long to find the Contest Hall, a circular building with a domed roof in the centre of the city. "Welcome!" said a dark-haired young woman as they entered. "Bun bun!" Her greeting was echoed by the Buneary that hopped around her feet. "My name is Keira; I'm one of the Contest Judges. Are you all here to enter?"

"Just the girls," said Jack, pointing at them. "I'm on a journey to challenge the Gyms."

"If it's your first time here, you'll need to register at the desk," Keira said brightly as she indicated a counter behind her. "You'll also receive a Pokémon accessory case, and if you wish, you may borrow an outfit from our wide selection of Contest attire."

"Whoa, slow down," protested Mouse. "We gotta dress up for this?" She plucked at her shirt with a disgusted look as if she only just noticed how dirty it was.

"It's traditional for Pokémon Coordinators to dress up for a Contest," explained a new voice, and they all turned to see a familiar boy with curly brown hair. "Hey. Where have you been?"

"Trevor!" Jack exclaimed happily and held out his hand. "Glad to see you again!" Of the three boys he had met back at Professor Rowan's lab, Trevor was the one he liked best.

The boy shook his hand and then waved at the girls.

Mouse angled her head toward the desk and Heather nodded at her before turning back to Trevor. "Are you entering the Contest too?"

With a dismissive gesture he replied, "No, I'm just here to watch. I'm taking a bit of a break before I go on to Veilstone City. Originally I hoped to challenge Fantina, but when I spoke to other trainers who had faced her, I realized that I'm nowhere near strong enough to beat her yet."

The other boys came to Jack's mind. "Do you know what happened to Damien and Ken?" he asked. "They sure left the lab in a hurry after they got their Pokémon."

Trevor scowled. "I don't know about Damien, I never saw him after that. I caught up with Ken just outside of Sandgem Town and suggested that we travel together." His tone of voice indicated that things hadn't gone well. "We split up after we got to Eterna City. Our views and training methods just clashed too much, and we agreed that we'd both be happier on our own. I'm surprised you'd ask about him, especially since he was so rude to your sister."

"Jack's got a kind heart," Heather said with a smile.

"Hey, your friend's coming back," Trevor noted. "You'd better go and register too. Jack, I've gotta tell you about my Pokémon!" As Heather left and Mouse stood nearby listening, he boasted about his two Gym badges and eagerly described his Pokémon team: Grotle, Bibarel, Lombre, and Roselia. "South of here, there's supposed to be a place where you can find Pikachu. I'm going that way next."

Jack laughed. "So you were serious when you told my sister that you wanted one? That's great."

Heather returned with a Contest guide in her hand and a fancy outfit carefully draped over one arm. "I'm really not so sure about this, Mouse," she said slowly. "They said that the format has changed back to the previous standard."

"What?" Mouse exclaimed. "You mean there won't be a Contest Battle?"

"What's that?" asked Jack.

"Contest Battles were introduced in Houenn a few years ago," Mouse replied. "It's a bit like a Gym battle except you have show off your moves in a beautiful way. The more impressive your moves, the more points you get."

"But apparently battles were becoming too dangerous, not to mention costing lots of money for repairs to the stage. So they were discontinued. I'll bet that's made a lot of people upset." Heather glanced at the guide as Mouse grumbled under her breath. "There are three rounds: presentation, dancing, and appeals." She raised her eyebrows. "Whoever heard of Pokémon dancing?"

An announcement over a loudspeaker cut through the buzz of conversations in the lobby. "Attention all participants, the Contest will begin shortly!"

"You boys had better go and find seats," Heather advised, and then she turned to Mouse. "We have to get changed."

"Good luck!" Jack called as Trevor pulled him toward the hall doors. He hoped that they would do well.

* * *

><p>The Contest seemed fairly straightforward. For the first round, trainers had to groom and dress up their Pokémon and then present them to a panel of judges that was comprised of Keira, a severe-looking man named Jordan, and to Jack's surprise, Fantina herself. The Gym Leader wore a purple dress and her hair was tied up into four large buns on the back of her head.<p>

Both Heather and Mouse had borrowed outfits for the competition, and when they walked across the stage during their respective turns, Jack couldn't help but stare with admiration. He had no memory of ever seeing his sister wear anything other than casual clothing, and she looked fabulous in the frilly yellow dress with her hair let down and a sparkling tiara on her head. With her was Loki, and he was obviously enjoying himself as he strutted alongside her wearing a tiny top hat, bow tie, and cane.

The last contestants were showing off for the judges when raised voices and scuffling sounded from backstage. "Help! Someone's-" The cry was cut off as an eerie metallic screech wafted into the hall. Most of the people closest to the stage covered their ears in discomfort.

When the noise subsided, Fantina abruptly stood up with a PokéBall in her hand, said something to the other judges, and ran out a side exit. She moved surprisingly fast despite her billowing dress. Keira called out, "Everyone, please remain calm until we find out what's happening!" But Jack had no intention of staying put, not if other people and Pokémon were potentially in danger! Ignoring Trevor's protests he scrambled over several people to get to the nearest aisle, then high-tailed it toward the exit that Fantina had taken. Several spectators called out but didn't try to stop him.

In the outer corridor there were only a few confused ushers, and glass crunched underfoot from floor-to-ceiling decorative windows that had been shattered by whatever attack had hit them. Outside was a small courtyard, and there he could see a battle unfolding between Fantina and none other than Pokémon Hunter K. On the ground nearby was a net that contained a fainted Chansey. Hunter K was about to steal a Pokémon!

At first he hesitated to get involved, since his last encounter with K had been dangerous. Given that Fantina was a Gym Leader and more powerful than Roark, perhaps she could beat him. But after observing the battle for a few seconds he realized that she was in serious trouble. Her Gengar was barely holding its own against the hunter's Skarmory, which seemed to shrug off her ghost-type attacks with relative ease. Skarmory was a steel type, and vulnerable to fire... but Jack remembered that he would be putting his Torchic at risk if he battled with it now.

"Zera, time in!" He summoned his Luxio instead. "Thunderbolt!"

The Skarmory squawked with pain and rage as the lightning surrounded it. Fantina took advantage of the distraction and switched out her Gengar for a Mismagius. "All right, _ma chère_, Trick Room!" The entire area was briefly covered by an eerie grid-like pattern, and then it faded away. "This enables slower Pokémon to move first. Now, let's have Confuse Ray!" A series of tiny gold orbs surrounded the Skarmory and immediately it became confused. It began to lunge around indiscriminately, snapping its beak.

Hunter K turned his attention away from his unruly Pokémon and looked for the source of the Thunderbolt. His harsh eyes fell upon Jack. "You!" he growled. "You're that kid from the mine... with the Torchic!" He recalled the Skarmory and grinned evilly. "You've got guts, I'll give you that. But you'll regret messing with me. Houndoom, come out and use Roar!"

"Thunderbolt!" Jack ordered, at the same time as Fantina instructed her Mismagius to use Shadow Ball. Since the Trick Room effect was still active Zera's attack hit first; however the higher-level Houndoom endured it almost effortlessly. In the next moment the Mismagius' Shadow Ball impacted and the Houndoom was knocked back, but it managed to regain its composure and finally let loose its Roar. Zera cringed and fled back to her PokéBall, and to make matters worse, her unwilling replacement happened to be Kojin!

"Now I've got you!" Hunter K raised his left arm and a net shot out, enveloping the Torchic and zapping him with an electric charge that knocked him out. "Enough! Houndoom, Smog, let's go!"

"Mismagius, Confuse Ray!" called Fantina, and like the Skarmory before it, the Houndoom's eyes glazed over and it snapped its jaws at some imagined assailant. "It is over, _n'est ce pas_?"

Hunter K bellowed, "Snap out of it and use Smog, and hurry!" Incredibly, despite its confusion, the Houndoom belched out a thick cloud of purple gases that obscured everything in the area. In desperation, Jack leaped out the broken window and tried to follow the sound of the hunter's footsteps through the murk. He had to get Kojin back! However he stumbled into one of the concrete bollards that surrounded the Contest Hall and fell to his knees, coughing helplessly.

"Gust attack!" voices chorused from behind him, and the smog was blown away by several flying-type Pokémon. But all that could be seen of Pokémon Hunter K was a black vehicle that was speeding into the distance. Hot on its bumper was a bevy of police vehicles with sirens blaring.

"_Maudit voleur!_ Thief!" cried Fantina in a strangled voice before having a coughing fit that forced her to grab one of the bollards for support. She pointed toward the sky and her Mismagius disappeared.

Heather arrived and helped Jack up. "Eagle, follow them!" Her Pidgeot departed. He gazed at his sister with red, irritated eyes that were streaming with tears of despair.

She ripped the tiara off her head in a fury, messing up her hair. "The stupid officials wouldn't let us out. But we knew something bad had to be happening if Fantina was involved, so Mouse and I and a few others told them to stuff it." She gripped his shoulder with her free hand, her expression serious. "We'll find him, Jack," she promised.

"Yes, we will, _bien sur_," Fantina vowed as she walked up to them. "My Mismagius, she will show me where he is."

Jack glared angrily in the direction that Hunter K had gone. "We'd better find him," he said in a bitter tone. Kojin was his first Pokémon, and losing him was unacceptable. "We'd better."


	10. Chapter 10

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound  
>by Sailor Chronos<p>

Chapter Ten: Flight Risk

The melodious noises of the local Pokémon in the summer heat did nothing to improve Jack's mood as he and the others were bounced around in Fantina's car. Instead of pursuing Pokémon Hunter K along the east road out of the city like the police had, Fantina had turned onto a lane that gradually became a narrow track, winding through copses and areas of tall grass. Eventually they could go no further and were forced to disembark.

A few moments passed in tense silence as Fantina mentally communed with her Mismagius, whom she had sent to shadow the fugitive. Then she brought out a PokéBall and released a Drifblim. "We shall surprise him this way," she announced with a smirk, her eyes gleaming. "How many of you have flying Pokémon?"

Heather nodded curtly and gave a call; her Pidgeot that had been circling high overhead swooped down and landed. However Jack sheepishly raised his hands, feeling like he had been stuck in a trap. He was so used to his sister having birds that he had never considered catching a flying type for himself.

Mouse had also been caught off-guard. "Um... does Gligar count?"

"_Non_, Gligar uses the wind to glide. And it is not large enough to carry you." In a fluid motion Fantina let out two more Pokémon: another Drifblim and a Gengar. "_Pas de problème_, my ghost Pokémon can do it." The first Drifblim wrapped its ribbon-like appendages around her body and lifted her slowly into the air.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Heather said ruefully as she settled herself on Eagle's back. "If I had worked harder with Aurelia and evolved her into a Staraptor, you'd have a ride."

"It's not your fault, sis. How could you have known?" He lifted his arms and the Gengar grasped his body, bearing him aloft with ease.

Mouse hesitated before allowing the Drifblim to carry her. "If it wasn't so important, I'd stay on the ground."

"Whatever helps to get Kojin back," Jack insisted. He would walk through fire if that was what it took to rescue his Torchic.

Once airborne, the unconventional quartet soared over a densely treed ridge, beyond which was more forest. However Fantina called their attention to a small clearing that contained a ramshackle cabin, next to which was parked a black vehicle resembling the one belonging to Hunter K. Her Mismagius appeared next to her, smiling in satisfaction; after thanking her Pokémon she recalled it.

Heather suggested, "When we land, we should disable his vehicle so he can't use it to escape. Then we surround him."

"He won't give up without a fight," warned Jack. "We already know that he has a powerful Houndoom and Skarmory, and probably has other Pokémon too."

Mouse gave her cat-like grin. "The most he can have with him is six. All together, we have more than that. He's outnumbered."

"Let us not get too confident, _mes amis_," said Fantina. "He is resourceful enough to escape the police, so he must have equipment that gives him an advantage."

They flew the rest of the way to the cabin in silence. As they landed and recalled their Pokémon, however, the low-pitched thrum of a helicopter sounded from the distance. Jack's earlier fury returned full strength. "I'll bet anything that's someone who's going to pay Hunter K for the Pokémon!"

Heather released Loki. "Then we'd better move! Loki, use Thunder Wave on that vehicle!" The Pikachu obeyed, and his lightning arced all around the black six-wheeled van, burning out its wiring and other delicate parts. Wisps of smoke puffed from under the hood.

The door of the cabin opened to reveal the muscular Hunter K, still wearing his black and white coveralls, and quite irate at the interruption of his upcoming deal. "You again? If you kids keep butting into my business, you'll regret it." He tossed up a PokéBall and a Skuntank emerged. "Leave! Now!"

"No way! Give me back my Torchic!" Jack shouted.

Hunter K laughed derisively. "I'd like to see you try. Your Pokémon are no match for mine. Skuntank, Smokescreen!" His Pokémon released a smoky cloud from its mouth that obscured both it and its trainer from sight.

Mouse and Heather nodded briskly at each other and assumed identical stances, as if they were participating in a double battle.

"Tysen, Dig!"

"Eagle, Whirlwind!"

Heather's Pidgeot whipped up such a fierce gale that not only did it blow away the smoke it threw the Skuntank off its feet. Meanwhile Mouse's Typhlosion burrowed into the ground, emerging a few seconds later directly underneath the Skuntank and hurling it into the air. It thudded into the ground and fainted.

Jack couldn't help but be impressed by the girls' teamwork; it was obvious that they had battled in tandem many times. He addressed Hunter K again. "Return my Torchic and the other Pokémon you stole!" His voice was all but drowned out by the noise from the approaching helicopter that was now preparing to land.

Fantina called out a Drifblim. "Ominous Wind!" The Pokémon floated in front of the copter and began to spin, creating a gust of purplish haze. The pilot panicked as the aircraft was buffeted by the wind, and he aborted his landing. Someone else inside the copter yelled orders and the copter gradually rose up to a safer distance.

Hunter K brought out two more Pokémon: a Toxicroak and his Skarmory. "If you're going double down, I'm game! Toxicroak, Earthquake! Skarmory, Fly!"

"Eagle, Wing Attack on Toxicroak!"

"Tysen, Flamethrower on Skarmory!"

The Toxicroak was able to maintain its Earthquake only for a few seconds before Eagle struck. It was thrown upward and then it crashed heavily onto the roof of the cabin, which cracked under it and then collapsed.

"No!" Jack screamed, horrified. Kojin had to be in there - not to mention how many other Pokémon! Forgetting the battle that was still underway he raced around the melee, plunged past Hunter K and into the damaged structure. The Pokémon hunter tried to grab him as he passed, but missed.

Gingerly he made his way through the the two-room cabin; the shattered boards that once had been the roof were everywhere and made his footing unstable. The Toxicroak lay unconscious amid the debris. Worried Pokémon cries emanated from the next room, including a familiar call that he had feared he would never hear again: "Torchic, chic chic!"

"Kojin!" He stumbled to the nearby doorway. In the other room he saw various pieces of equipment scattered about, but his attention was drawn to several cages lined up on a table, one of which contained Kojin! Intensely relieved, he moved toward them, and his Torchic fluttered about in delight within the confines of his prison.

The remnants of the ceiling above creaked menacingly as it was vibrated by a shock wave from the battle outside. Jack realized with dread that there was no time to get the cages open or carry them out one by one. The place could implode at any second and crush them all. He fumbled at his belt and released his recently-acquired Kirlia. "Grant, can you teleport us and the other Pokémon?"

Grant chirruped in an affirmative tone and held out his arms. A multicoloured glow suffused the area, and in the next instant Jack and all the Pokémon were outside, in a spot about ten yards away from the cabin. Jack took a relieved breath. "Awesome! Thanks, Grant!" He quickly glanced over his shoulder; Heather and Mouse still battled the Hunter who was now using his Houndoom and a large Pokémon with a shield-shaped head that he didn't recognize.

Trusting that the girls could handle it, he wondered how to get the captive Pokémon out of the cages. They were made of a material that felt like metal when he tapped it with his fingers, but it appeared to be impervious to attacks, judging from the marks that had to be the results of the Pokémon attempting to escape. There was no obvious locking mechanism, so the only explanation was that Hunter K had a device that controlled the cages. Defeated, he sat back on his heels with shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, I can't open it."

Once again, Grant came to the rescue. The Kirlia concentrated on Kojin's cage and teleported its occupant out. The moment the Torchic was free, he gratefully leaped into his friend's arms. "Chic, chic, chic!"

Joyful tears began to well up in Jack's eyes despite his efforts to stop them. He was a trainer! Trainers didn't cry! His throat closed up, but he managed to whisper, "I'm so sorry, Kojin." Swallowing hard, he lifted Kojin up to arm's length and continued, "If I'd trained harder with you, this wouldn't have happened." Kojin flapped his little wings and voiced a stream of syllables; Jack could clearly understand from the tone and body language that his Pokémon did not blame him, and relaxed a bit. "Okay, but from now on, no more holding back, understand?"

Kojin peeped happily, and then was suddenly surrounded by a brilliant glow. Shocked, Jack quickly put the Pokémon down. His Torchic was evolving! But he hadn't been battling! A half-forgotten memory surfaced in his mind: sometimes Pokémon evolved when they became more emotionally attuned to their trainers. He watched as the Pokémon's legs became longer and more muscular while the wings lengthened and grew sharp claws. Kojin had become a Combusken!

Jack let out a jubilant whoop, and then belatedly thought about the Pokémon in the other cages; they had to be freed also. Grant was happy to oblige and used Teleport to liberate the four remaining captives: Chansey, Munchlax, Gible, and Snorunt. They all made noises of relief and gratitude, and he smiled happily at them.

Wait... a Gible?!

Without thinking he yanked an empty PokéBall from his belt and threw it at the Gible. "Please let me catch you!" With a flash of red energy the Gible was pulled into the PokéBall, but it emerged almost immediately and gave Jack an annoyed glare before digging down into the ground.

His legs buckled and he sat down heavily on the grass with a tired groan. "Oh, man! I should have known better than to do that." He had been pining about the fact that he hadn't seen Wayward Cave where Gible were known to live, and he just had a chance to catch one but messed it up big time.

A few seconds passed before the Gible popped back to the surface a short distance away, and it growled at him. He took the hint and decided to not try to approach it.

"Jack!" he heard Heather call. "Are you all right?" She and Mouse jogged over to him. "When we saw you run into the cabin we got worried, but we had to finish battling Hunter K."

"I'm fine." He scrambled to his feet and glanced past the girls. "Where's-?"

Mouse cut him off with a wave. "Don't worry about him. We beat that jerk with no problem. After Fantina scared off his client's copter, she got her Mismagius to hold him with Mean Look until the police get here."

Heather leaned down to greet the freed Pokémon. "Hello. Who are these?" With a start she noticed the Combusken. "Is that Kojin?"

The stress and worry of the past few hours faded as words tumbled out of Jack's mouth in his effort to explain what had happened. "It was great, sis! Grant teleported all of us out of the cabin before it collapsed, and then when we got Kojin out of the cage he evolved, just like that! And one of the other Pokémon was a Gible and I tried to catch it, but it didn't work."

"Whoa, whoa!" said Heather, laughing. "Did you say a Gible?"

"You mean that?" Mouse pointed at the Gible, and it eyed her warily. "You do realize that it might already belong to someone? If that's the case you won't be able to catch it anyway."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said with a disappointed sigh, and then cleared his throat. "We should get all these Pokémon back to the city. I'm sure their trainers are worried about them."

Fantina drifted toward them; her hair was disheveled after being blown around by the draft from the helicopter. "You do that, _mes amis_," she said, and puffed a stray hair out of her face. "I must stay here and make sure that hunter goes nowhere." Then she looked pointedly at each of them in turn. "I witnessed some excellent battling today. Come to my Gym tomorrow. _A bientôt_!" She turned and walked back to her Pokémon.

They all stared at each other for a moment. "Was that... an invitation?" Jack asked, wide-eyed with amazement.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," said Heather. "In the meantime let's round up these Pokémon..." She chased after the Munchlax who had wandered a short distance away and was eating berries from a bush.

Jack recalled Kojin to his PokéBall, and once the other Pokémon were accounted for, he asked Grant to teleport them all to the Pokémon Centre.


	11. Chapter 11

Pokémon, Pikachu and other Pokémon character names are trademarks of GameFreak Inc, Creatures Inc, Nintendo. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sinnoh Bound

Chapter Eleven: Nothing Ventured

By the following morning the capture of Pokémon Hunter K was the talk of the town. Upon being questioned by Officer Jenny, however, Heather and Mouse both understated their involvement and let the credit pass to Fantina.

Jack was baffled by this sudden turnabout by the normally extroverted girls. "You deserve some recognition!" he protested after they all sat down for breakfast in a relatively quiet corner of the Pokémon Centre. "What's wrong?"

His sister regarded him calmly. "We're here on a journey and to support you, not to look for fame. We just don't want the fuss."

"Besides," said Mouse around a mouthful of scrambled eggs, "I would rather be known for getting a high rank in the Sinnoh League, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose you're right," he said reluctantly. But after all, it was their decision and there was no point in his arguing with them. "So what do we do now?"

"Before or after I challenge Fantina?" Mouse asked, grinning.

Heather poked him. "Aren't you going to challenge her too?"

Jack considered for a few seconds. "I don't think so. I saw how she battled against Hunter K yesterday, and I don't think my Pokémon are strong enough to beat her."

"That's a smart decision," Heather complimented. "You're getting a better grasp of the limitations of your Pokémon."

He was about to say something else when sounds of breaking objects suddenly emanated from the Pokémon examination room. In unison they stood up, just as a Gible catapulted through the swinging double doors and landed in the middle of the lobby. Nurse Joy ran in with a PokéBall in her outstretched hand, but it refused to return and fled. The automatic sliding entrance to the Centre opened just enough to allow the Pokémon to run outside, and it dug a hole in the street and disappeared underground.

Concerned, Jack ran up to Nurse Joy with the two girls behind him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she said dejectedly as she miniaturized the PokéBall and stuffed it into a pocket, "but I'm afraid one of my diagnostic machines will need to be repaired." Then her eyes widened in recognition. "Aren't you the kids who brought in some rescued Pokémon yesterday? I would like to thank you on the behalf of their trainers; they were all very glad that the Pokémon were safe." She sighed and gestured toward the door. "But that Gible hasn't been claimed yet so I think it might be wild. Does it happen to belong to any of you?"

"No, it doesn't," Jack replied with regret. "It didn't let me catch it either."

"Sometimes Pokémon just don't want to be caught," Nurse Joy said with a compassionate smile. "Dragon types in particular can be quite stubborn about that. If you're lucky enough to see it again, be prepared for a difficult battle."

He already had an idea of what he needed to do. "You bet."

Nurse Joy nodded to him in encouragement and went away to survey the damage that the Gible had caused.

"So!" Mouse said as she clapped her hands with glee. "What do you say we head over to the Gym? You two can watch me win!"

Heather laughed. "Don't count your Psyducks before they're hatched, my friend."

"Have a little faith, will you?" Mouse said with a snort. "Anyway, I don't see you rushing to claim the honour. And..." She drawled the word to stop Heather's protest, and became somber. "I know what you said about helping your bro and all, but you haven't been working with your Pokémon as much as I've seen you do in the past. You're getting soft. How about this: if I win," she jerked a thumb at her chest, "you have to go back and challenge Roark and Gardenia."

Jack's jaw dropped. "Mouse, you can't be serious!"

Heather was just as dumbfounded. She stared at her friend for a moment, and then her brows furrowed briefly as she made some mental calculations. "Even flying most of the way, that would take at least a fortnight! I couldn't leave you two waiting here that long."

"I didn't say anything about waiting," Mouse said implacably. "Jack and I can continue on and leave messages at the Pokémon Centres that we pass so you'll know where we are."

"But..." For a moment Jack struggled to find words, and then faced Mouse indignantly with his fists clenched. It didn't matter to him how long she and Heather had been friends; Mouse had no right to do this! "But this was supposed to be _our_ journey. Mine and Heather's! How can you even suggest that we split up?"

"Jack," his sister said before he could continue with his rant. "Please calm down. I hate to say so, but she's right." She sighed. "I have been neglecting my training."

"But..." He shook his head at her in disbelief.

"This is _your_ journey, and your Pokémon need you."

"And I need YOU!" he shouted. "While you were away in Houenn, I wished that I could have gone with you! Every day! You don't know what it was like to not be able talk about anything related to Pokémon while Papa was around." Tears began to gather in his eyes. "These past few weeks have been so totally amazing..." Speech suddenly became impossible as his throat spasmed from anger and frustration.

"Jack." Heather hugged him tightly until he relaxed a bit, and then stepped back to regard him affectionately. "I'm not leaving yet. Mouse still has to keep her end of the deal."

He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and turned to glare at the other girl, resentment plainly showing on his face. "It seems that I have no choice. Fine. If you win, I won't say any more about it. But if you lose, you keep any more bright ideas about separating to yourself, do you understand?"

Mouse was impressed by his vehemence and his loyalty to his sister. "Kid, you're on." She turned and began to walk toward the exit, but tossed one last remark over her shoulder, "But I'll have you know, I do my best under pressure."

* * *

><p>The interior of the Gym was dimly lit, giving Jack and Heather some trouble to find seats in the observation gallery. But as soon as they sat down, a spotlight clicked on at one end of the battlefield and illuminated a square platform that rose up from below. The occupant was Fantina, who pirouetted gracefully.<p>

"Finally, you have arrived! Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. So I study Pokémon very much, and I have come to be Gym Leader. To the Hearthome Gym, _bienvenue_!" Cheers erupted from the sizeable audience in the stands.

The lights above the field brightened, and Jack was finally able to see Mouse standing at the opposite end. She was holding a PokéBall in her hand and looking relaxed.

Another platform rose at the side of the field, bearing a green-haired girl who wore an orange and brown jumpsuit. "This match is between Christina Souris of New Bark Town and Gym Leader Fantina. Each side will use three Pokémon, and the battle ends whenever all three Pokémon are unable to continue. Only the challenger may make substitutions. Begin!"

"Time for your entrance, _ma chère_ Duskull!" Fantina's first Pokémon emerged from its ball; it looked little more than a child-sized grey hooded shirt that had a skull where a face would have been.

Jack grimaced and reached for his Pokédex. "Ugh, what in the world is that?"

The Pokédex trilled, "Duskull, the Requiem Pokémon. Duskull will pursue its prey wherever it goes. It also startles bad children and makes them cry."

"Stripes, it's action time!" Mouse called out her Zigzagoon, and many of the observers tittered or laughed outright. She ignored them.

"I don't get it," Jack said. "Why is she using him? He's a normal type and normal moves won't affect a ghost type."

Heather crossed her arms with a pensive expression. "Yes, but ghost moves don't affect a normal type Pokémon either. She must have something up her sleeve."

Fantina assumed a _retiré_ position, bending one leg at the knee. "Duskull, let us start with Mean Look!" A large ghostly pair of eyes wafted above the field, and Stripes was unable to look away despite Mouse's orders to the contrary. He became rooted to the spot in fear.

"Interesting," Heather commented. "She can't switch him out now, so I wonder how she'll deal with that."

Jack turned to her and snapped, "Whose side are you on?" He hadn't thought he'd need to remind her so soon of the stakes!

Down below, Mouse still appeared confident. "No switching, no problem. Stripes, Pin Missile, go!" Her Pokémon shook himself, rearranging his fur into sharp spikes, and he flung out dozens of tiny projectiles. However, at a gesture from Fantina the Duskull floated upward out of harm's way. "Roundabout!" Mouse ordered next, and Stripes balanced on his hind legs and began to spin, sending the pins in every direction. The Duskull couldn't dodge them all and was hit multiple times, but it took very little damage.

"No way!" Jack gasped in spite of himself.

Heather sighed in disappointment. "Ghost types are also tough against bug moves. What does Mouse think she's doing? This isn't her usual style."

"Now it is our turn!" Fantina singsonged. She twirled and called "Duskull, Disable!" The Duskull glowed an eerie blue colour, and in the next instant Stripes glowed blue as well. He glanced at himself and made a startled noise as his fur settled back down onto his body.

"So you're going to play dirty by disabling my moves, huh?" Mouse goaded. "Try this out. Odor Sleuth!" Her Pokémon's nose and mouth were surrounded by white static for a moment, and then he opened his mouth to let loose a bubble of energy that enveloped the Duskull, which began to glow faintly yellow. "No matter what your Duskull does now, Stripes will be able to find it!"

Jack could see that although Fantina was still smiling her composure seemed to be weakening, and he wondered if her Duskull knew any offensive moves that were not ghost type.

"_Alors_, we will continue even so! Will-o-Wisp!" A series of ghostly red and blue flames appeared and floated through the air.

Mouse waved one hand and went on the offensive. "Dodge that and use Headbutt!" Stripes raced forward, zigzagged in between the motes of flame and launched himself at the Duskull, landing a solid hit! Astonished gasps and mutters emanated from the audience.

"Nice!" exclaimed Heather. "Odor Sleuth causes a ghost type to become vulnerable to normal type attacks! Mouse must have planned that all along."

With the Duskull disoriented from the unexpected hit, Mouse pressed her advantage. "Stripes, Shadow Claw!" Purple shadows extended from her Pokémon's claws and slashed the Duskull, dealing heavy damage and bringing it down.

"Duskull is unable to battle. Zigzagoon wins!" the referee said.

Jack took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around his body as he tried to control his conflicting emotions. On one hand he was happy that Mouse had the advantage in the battle so far. But he was also terrified of what was going to happen if she did win. Heather would leave and he would be traveling in an unfamiliar region with a person who he had known for only a short time. Could he cope?

Celebratory shouts and whistles around him drew his attention back to the battle: Fantina had released her Mismagius. "Time to show your grace, _chèrie_! Magical Leaf!" Her Pokémon spun in place and a shower of glowing green leaves whirled throughout the battlefield. There were too many for Stripes to dodge and he was pummelled to the ground by the force of the attack. "Finish with Dark Pulse!" The gems on Mismagius' body flared and a ball of intertwining black and purple circles materialized.

"Stripes, get up! You can do this!" Mouse hollered. "Use Iron Tail to intercept!" The Zigzagoon struggled to his feet and his tail transformed into a steel-coloured version of itself. As the dark orb lengthened into a beam that arced toward him, he leaped up and struck its leading edge with his tail. It was a valiant effort; had he been stronger, he would have succeeded. His tail sliced the beam partly in half, but he could only hold it for a few seconds before the energy overwhelmed him and he crashed down in a faint.

"Zigzagoon is unable to battle. Mismagius wins!" As the spectators cheered, Fantina pirouetted again and blew a kiss to her admirers.

Mouse recalled Stripes to his PokéBall. "Thank you, that was terrific." She selected another ball and addressed Fantina. "Don't start thinking that I'm a pushover. Here's some real power! Donar, it's action time!" She threw out the PokéBall and her Raichu emerged.

The remainder of the battle was difficult for Jack to watch, considering how predictable the outcome would be. Although Fantina's Pokémon were evenly matched with those of Hunter K, he in turn had been completely overwhelmed by Heather and Mouse's sheer force.

"Mismagius, Trick Room!" An eerie grid-like pattern covered the battlefield for a moment, and then it faded away. "Now I shall be able to move first. Confuse Ray!"

"Counter with Thunder Wave!" called Mouse, but Donar was already surrounded by a series of tiny gold orbs. His eyes glazed over and he stumbled unsteadily around, sweeping his tail as if to trip an unseen foe. "Come on, focus! Thunder Wave!" Donar didn't respond.

"What is it you say, you are a sitting Psyduck?" Fantina asked. "_Ma chère_ Mismagius, Psybeam!" Its eyes began to glow red.

"Donar, return!" The Raichu disappeared into his ball just in time, as Mismagius released a multicoloured beam at the spot where Donar had been. "Just the kind of thing I'd expect from a Gym Leader, but I'm not done yet. Tysen, it's action time!" She had saved her best Pokémon, Typhlosion, for last. "Use Smokescreen!" Thick grey smoke gushed from Tysen's mouth, blanketing the field and obscuring everything, including himself. "All right, let's play hide and seek!"

Mismagius floated above the smoke, searching for its opponent. "That was smart, but your Pokémon cannot hide from us!" Fantina flung her arms wide. "Mismagius, use Magical Leaf on the field!"

"Go underground!" Mouse called. The swirling leaves dispersed the smoke quickly, but Tysen was nowhere to be seen.

"Mismagius, wait for it to come out and then use Confuse Ray! It cannot escape."

"That's what you think! Smokescreen!" A cloud of smoke erupted from the hole that Tysen had dug, covering the battlefield again. "Now, Swift!"

"Confuse Ray!" Although the Trick Room was still active and enabled Mismagius to attack first, the golden orbs of its Confuse Ray meandered all around the arena as if unable to find a target. In the next instant a stream of star-shaped motes of energy appeared from one side and unerringly struck the Mismagius... passing through it without any effect. Fantina clenched a fist in triumph. "Aha! Aim for that spot and use Dark Pulse!" The bizarre dual-coloured beam lanced out and hit the ground, blowing away the smoke in the vicinity and creating a small crater. However there was still no sign of the Typhlosion.

Mouse grinned and snapped her fingers. "Flamethrower, now!" Tysen burst out of the ground behind Mismagius and flames roared from his mouth, engulfing the Magical Pokémon and knocking it out.

"Mismagius is unable to battle, Typhlosion wins!"

Fantina recalled her Pokémon amid gasps of awe and disappointment from the audience. "_Merci, chèrie_." She drew herself up and addressed Mouse, "Oh, heavens! It seems I am down to my last Pokémon."

"And it looks like I have the upper hand," Mouse said with a grin. "I figured out your strategy. Since your moves would happen first, I had to lure you into hitting the wrong place so that I could attack from behind."

"Well done," the Gym Leader admitted with a rueful smile. "But I never surrender! Behold my master of shadows!" She tossed a PokéBall and her Gengar appeared.

By this time the rest of the smoke had dissipated, and a subtle flare over the field indicated that the Trick Room effect had also worn off. "Perfect timing!" Mouse enthused. "Tysen, Flamethrower!"

Fantina punched the air in front of her. "_Vite_, Sucker Punch!" As Tysen opened his mouth, Gengar raised an arm. A shadowy projection extended across the field and belted the Typhlosion across the jaw, knocking him backward and spoiling his attack. It didn't cause any serious damage though, and Tysen immediately regained his footing.

Quickly Mouse shifted her strategy. "Tysen, Quick Attack!" Her Pokémon dashed toward the Gengar at an amazing speed.

Fantina laughed, incredulous at such brashness. "That will not affect Gengar. Shadow Punch!" Her Gengar drew back one fist, which became encased in purple sparks. Then it aimed its fist toward Tysen and sent an elongated black arm toward him.

Mouse's eyes narrowed. "I've got you now. Eruption!" Just before the Shadow Punch hit, Tysen ignited the flames on his neck and released a geyser of red-orange fire at the Gengar. The Typhlosion was once again knocked back but he rolled to a crouch. When the flames burned out, the Gengar toppled over.

"Gengar is unable to battle. Typhlosion wins, therefore the winner of this battle is Christina!" There was a moment of stunned silence from the audience, followed by clapping and whistles. As Fantina consoled her Pokémon, Mouse turned to face where Jack and Heather were sitting and flashed a victory sign with her fingers.

Jack groaned morosely and leaned over to bury his face in his arms.

* * *

><p>After Fantina officially presented Mouse with the Relic Badge, the three of them exited the Gym and Heather released Eagle, her Pidgeot.<p>

"Can't you wait until tomorrow?" Jack pleaded. "What's the hurry?" One more evening would at least allow him to come to terms with today's bewildering events, and he needed to talk.

Heather secured her backpack. "The faster I get going, the sooner I'll be able to challenge the Gyms and catch up to you." She noticed her brother's distraught look and hugged him once more. "You have shown bravery, compassion, and wisdom in the short time that we've been in Sinnoh. I'm confident that you'll be able to grow on your own for a while. Mouse will steer you right, you'll see." Turning to Mouse she said, with a slight smile, "You take care of him, or else."

"Count on it," Mouse responded, giving a thumbs-up.

Unable to speak, Jack watched as Heather positioned herself on Eagle's back and the Pidgeot took off, ascending into the clear sky and heading in a westerly direction. When this journey had begun, he never would have thought he and Heather would go separate ways. Now he realized that he couldn't hold onto her forever, and it was time for him to find his own way instead of hiding in the safety of his sister's shadow. When she returned, he would be a whole new trainer. Taking a deep breath, he blew it out sharply and smiled to himself.

Mouse clapped her arm around his shoulders. "Ready to go?"

He waited until Heather was out of sight and then cleared his throat before facing east, toward Veilstone City. "Yeah!"

THE END

Sailor Chronos  
>February 2013<p>

I would like to thank the following people:

My husband, as always, for his support.  
>"DarthMittens" my beta-reader, for help with the editing.<br>The creator of Pokémon, Satochi Tajiri, for providing such a rich world to inspire the imagination.


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